All
athletes are prone to injury.
Skateboarders are no different.
The irony is, many times skaters do not think of themselves as athletes
& the classic sense, yet are sometimes more at risk given the ‘extreme’
nature of what they do. Whether it is
airing out of 10’ bowl or ollie-ing a staircase, the penalty for failure at the
very least is impacting a very hard surface and coming to an abrupt halt,
expressed by Newton’s law of Force = Mass
x Acceleration, where the concrete always wins. Yet many skaters, (who tend to have youth
& plenty of ego on their side), do not warm-up, stretch, wear protective
equipment, or cross-train with other forms of exercise, in order to improve
strength, joint-integrity & flexibility.
No other elite athlete would train or compete with such personal
neglect.
Most
of us skate for fun and couldn't care less about competition or elite
performance – this is true. However, no
matter why you skate, getting injured
SUCKS, especially if you can’t skateL
The
intent here is not to sound preachy. Skateboarding
has always been about non-conforming & expressing individuality, and is
certainly not considered a mainstream or conventional sport (though this
perspective seems to be rapidly changing in our society). In fact many of us came to love skateboarding
because there are no coaches and no rules or because it was an outlet from
‘normal’ team sports. Indeed skating is
as much an art form as it is a sport.
This is not intended to be a political discussion, or about the obvious
protective benefits of wearing helmets and pads – we wouldn’t waste your
time!
This is about INCREASING longevity as skater: Taking care of
your body & your joints so you can skate longer & pain-free. Injuries are inevitable if you skate long
& hard enough, but you can take steps to prevent most of them, minimize
their severity and recover more quickly.
In fact, skating is an amazing full body, functional exercise, and a path to a fitter, healthier mind, body
& soul.
What
can you do? Much of it you know already,
especially if you ever played other conventional sports. LISTEN to your body. Put in the time. Pay your dues, and your body will love you
for it. Your joints, tendons &
ligaments will be STRONG when you need them to:
