 Poster: A snowHead
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My daughter just had her first ski lesson of the year, she’s skiing with her skis parallel on the turns but is doing so on the inside edge as she has he knees pulled in permanently. We’re heading back next week to free ski as there are no lessons available. Does anyone have any ideas to get her knees apart?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@MouseInLux, how old is she?
Do you mean that her knees are touching when you say "knees pulled in permanently"
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| MouseInLux wrote: |
| My daughter just had her first ski lesson of the year, she’s skiing with her skis parallel on the turns but is doing so on the inside edge as she has he knees pulled in permanently. We’re heading back next week to free ski as there are no lessons available. Does anyone have any ideas to get her knees apart? |
Do you mean she's knocked kneed?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Hold a balloon between her knees? But it might be an alignment issue. My OH was the opposite - bandy. Going up a drag lift behind him was v obvious. Skis parallel, on outside edges. Cuff canting?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I once had to do a complicated exercise holding crossed ski poles between the legs - quite hazardous. Maybe not recommended for your daughter!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I mean, just for skiing, she pulls her knees together. Not all the way but enough to cause issues with changing edges
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| MouseInLux wrote: |
| I mean, just for skiing, she pulls her knees together. Not all the way but enough to cause issues with changing edges |
Sorry it's still not clear, do you want to get her skiing on her outside edge, or are her knees touching?
How old is she? Things like ball between the legs as suggested might be too uncool for teenagers but ok for younger skiers. However if the issue is she has too much weight on the inside ski a ball between the knees won't fix that!
If you want her weight more on the outside ski, on a very easy slope, start getting her to lift her inside ski in the traverse, then bring that lift into the end of the turn, then earlier and earlier in the turn....
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She’s 6 going on 16!
Her teacher said that she’s got too much weight on her inside edge because her knees are in so she can side step
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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From the description it sounds as if she's still got a little bit of snowplough in her turn (which will give here some confidence and stability if she's not fully confident in parallel turns yet) and is bringing the inside leg back parallel towards the end of the turn (the step bit).
How many weeks skiing has she done?
Rather than focusing on stopping the knees from dropping inwards (which probably isn't the cause of the problem, more a symptom) I'd maybe think about getting her more confident in her ability to turn and maybe getting her a bit more committed to using the outside leg more. Lessons with a qualified instructor would be best as it sounds like she's at the point where she needs just a touch more confidence in making her turns correctly and it could be very easy to ingrain some bad habits by focusing on the wrong thing.
There are some good exercise for getting the inside leg to move more in line with the outside one but I think they're probably a bit too advanced for where she is. If I'm reading it right her problem is quite a common one and easily goes away with confidence and a bit of good tuition.
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Has she got flat feet?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@MouseInLux,
The medical term for knock knees is valgus.
We divide it into physiological valgus ie it is within normal limits and into pathological valgus ie it is abnormal.
Children are naturally bandy until about the age they start to walk.
They then become a bit valgus before straightening up a little to end up with the adult alignment of the knees, which incidentally is a touch valgus.
So your 6 year is likely to be be naturally a bit more valgus than she will end up with as an adult.
Some people appear to be apparently valgus because they collapse in at the hip.
The hip turns in, whilst the foot remains in place and so the foot and knee appear valgus.
This is more common in girls.
It is partly due to the shape of the bones/ joints but also can be exaggerated if the muscles that prevent to hip turning in wards are weak - these are the gluteal muscles. Strengthening these can reduce the tendency for the knee t collapse into valgus by, in essence, keeping the hip turned out.
However,
At six your daughter will probably become less valgus as she grows.
She is also going to become alot stronger in the next two years.
As she does so she will then be able to better control her body position.
The strength improvements are best visualised by watching good 6 or 7 year old skiing and then at age 8.
My seven year still leans back in her boot quite alot because she just doesn't have the quads strength to
hold her weight if she is forwards. im sure that next year shell be able to start to get forwards in the boot.
She will also be less valgus and is probably already seeing that as she shot up in height this year.
Jonathan Bell
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