Single-leg squat test
Stand on your right foot, keeping it flat on the ground throughout the exercise. Keep your left leg straight and extend it in front of you. Drop as low as you can into a squat. If your right knee moves to the inside of your right big toe, then you likely have tight adductors (inner thigh muscles) and weak abductors (muscles that pull your leg outward), including your gluteus medius (a buttocks muscle that helps keep you stable during single-leg movements). Perform the test on your left foot as well.
Ski symptoms
An upper body that follows your ski tips into the turn rather than facing down the hill. If your inner thighs are tight, your legs can’t angulate without your upper body twisting. This puts you at risk for ACL injuries and poor balance and alignment.
The solution
1. Strengthen your abductors
2. Stretch your adductors
See next two slides
It’s easy to trace an injury back to its cause, such as a fall on the slopes. Not so obvious, however, is what precipitated the fall. According to Darcy Norman, formerly with the Tahoe Center for Health & Sports Performance, sports injuries often trace back to muscle imbalances that keep you from moving the way you should. “Your body adapts by finding other movements to compensate,” says Norman. Before long, your form falters, and your risk of injury increases. Short circuit that process with these four tests for common skier imbalances. If you fail any of them, follow these prescribed exercises to restore symmetry.- SKI MAGAZINE, MARCH/APRIL 2009
