 Poster: A snowHead
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I have noticed that when I’m skiing, I struggle to transfer the power in my left leg through to my ski, which results in a weaker turn. I’ve always had problems with my left knee when I do too much exercise and have had all sorts of tests done on my knee but they have all come back ok.
I’ve recently been doing more running and have become more aware of the fact that I have pronation/eversion of my left foot (arch rolls in towards the floor) and am wondering whether this may actually be causing the problems with my knee? I plan on doing a lot more skiing over the next couple of years and I’m worried that this weakness may stop me from progressing as fast as I want to, but I’m hoping that if it is purely down to my posture etc. I may be able to do something about it.
My boots are really comfy and I can distribute the weight evenly in my right foot but I don’t feel any where near as stable on my left.
I’m guessing that the answer will be foot beds of some sort, but I don’t know anything about them - I’ve searched through previous threads on here but not found any specific answers. If anyone has any suggestions or has had a similar problem I’d be really grateful for your thoughts.
Thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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Fogs, I have the same problem, but it's OK now. Good footbeds, made by a proper and experienced bootfitter will make a big difference. I know CEM is in Bicester and SMALLZOOKEEPER in chamonix. I can highly recommend Cedric at Jacques Sports here in LDA. I hope this helps. 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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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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Running is so bad for knees. Give it up instantly in favour of a bike.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Frosty the Snowman, you are right, running is terrible for knees and I have ditched it in favour of my bike and the cross trainer at the gym...I really don't want to make the problem worse!
easiski, do you have insoles/footbeds in your shoes aswell or just in your ski boots? Do you find that your weight is more evenly distributed etc. when you are skiing now? Looks like I will be making a trip to Bicester, although my brother lives in France so I leave my ski's and boots out there to save on luggage. I may have to go out for a couple of days to pick them up...what a hardship!
Thanks everyone
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Fogs, could be nothing to do with knees and perhaps your not angulating enough on your weaker side, i have the same problem and i automatically assumed it was my weak left knee or alignment of boots/footbeds. I got new foot beds and although much more comfortable didnt address the weak sidedness of my skiing.
My instructor recons it is down to not enough angulation in the hip joint on that side. one way to check this is look at some video of your skiing and see if your shoulders tilt more when turning on one side versus the other. Ideally your shoulders shouldnt tilt....
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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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Fogs, Just another suggestion - why not have a session or two with a personal trainer. I have found them really helpful in the past at leveling my body out. I'm naturally stronger on the right, & hadnt really noticed how more dominant that side had become, until it was pointed out to me. Its easily sorted out with exercise, & I'm sure you'll notice a difference when skiing.
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sounds like all the answers have been given,
the excessive pronation of the foot could be down to a weakness in the foot, the ankle the knee the hip and or any of the muscluature in between, working on core stability and stretching / strengthening of the ADductor / ABductor muscles can help to stabilize things a bit, the use of orthotic footbed in ski boots and day to day footwear can also make a difference
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Fogs, have you had your back checked? MrsPeteMillis went to see a chiropractor as had been having neck problems and one leg weaker than t'other. One of the things they do it look at your back alignment and stand you on two sets of scales to see how evenly, or not, your weight is being distributed. It basically showed that a slight curvature of the spine was causing the problem - she had a few sessions of clicking and pushing and pulling and it made a world of difference.
Other problems happen in the knee itself - my Mum has, for years, been a bit wonky on one side and has refused to have anything done about it. Her left knee cartilage is now all but gone and still she refuses to do anything about it. She has now got to the wonky situation where itrying to compensate for it without proper investigation and surgery has resulted in her hips and back causing her a whole load of trouble. she has got terrible pronation in the left foot but it's a sympton of what's gone on elsewhere in her legs.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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one simple test you could try is to go for a short run....do you get the pain in your knee straight away, or does it come on after a while
if it comes on straight away then the issue is probably with the knee itself, if it takes a while then the problem lies elsewhere, be it the foot the pelvis the back or the muscles in between
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CEM, good tip i will try that....
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You know it makes sense.
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I dont know if this is a stupid question or not but are there any exercises that are helpful in stregnthening the knee. I know the first thing I need to do is loose a lot of weight but I would also like to ensure I dont damage my knees in the process. Have tried running and do find my knees ache after a while so will lay off until a lot of the weight is gone.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Gilberts Fridge, Cycling or rowing (machine)
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Poster: A snowHead
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Gilberts Fridge, Squats
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Gilberts Fridge, Sit on the floor, with your back supported against something (wall, sofa, whatever) and with one knee bent. Put your other leg out straight and then slowly lift it and lower it again, but not completely to the floor. Also, with your leg slightly above the floor and keeping the leg extended, move it slowly from side to side. Do this several times, you will feel the strain in your thigh. Same again with other leg. You will be strengthening your quads.
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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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Gilberts Fridge, PS If your knees are just a bit stiff, the best thing to get them mobile again (in my experience) is indeed the rowing machine - for me better than cycling, for some reason. But make sure you are in a correct, upright position, so that you don't b&gger your back.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Running causes repeated impacts on the knees - not nice if the muscles aren't on good form.
Personally I rate swimming as about the best general fitness excercise.
Good swimmers use their legs a lot, there's no impact in the process and, because of the resistance of the water, it builds muscles quickly if you put a little effort into the process. It's also a very balanced, excercising all the body rather than just certain muscle groups.
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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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| Fogs wrote: |
Frosty the Snowman, you are right, running is terrible for knees and I have ditched it in favour of my bike and the cross trainer at the gym...I really don't want to make the problem worse!
easiski, do you have insoles/footbeds in your shoes aswell or just in your ski boots? Do you find that your weight is more evenly distributed etc. when you are skiing now? Looks like I will be making a trip to Bicester, although my brother lives in France so I leave my ski's and boots out there to save on luggage. I may have to go out for a couple of days to pick them up...what a hardship!
Thanks everyone |
Fogs I only just saw this but this could be of interest to you, i had a similar problem (pain in the left knee) when running a number of years back so i stopped running and went on the cross trainer etc. A couple of years after that i started to get problems with my lower back including torn sacroiliac ligaments amongst other things. Moving on another year or so i started to get a sensation of numbness in lower left leg and really debilitating shooting pains in my left foot to the point where i was dragging my left leg along. It wasn't too pleasant as despite having private medical care and quick access to specialists and scans no one could give me a diagnosis and in fact were starting to consider all types of unpleasant neurological conditions. Fortunately it all ended up ok, looking around for some answers i booked an appointment with a podiatrist and completely randomly he turned out to be one of the UK's top bio mechanical guys, he literally took one look at my foot and said he knew what was wrong and in 6mths could sort out 90% of the problems, knee and back included. True to his word he did, using corrective orthotics and physio. The interesting thing is that the root of the problem, my foot, was the last thing to show any symptoms so i'd say its definitely worth seeing a foot specialist if you're aware that you do have an unusual foot set up as you can be storing up problems for the future while just walking around day to day.
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Fogs,
sorry to hijack your thread. Guys thanks for your answers, will put them into practice
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CEM, good tip...if I'm running, my knee tends to ache afterwards, indicating that it isn't actually a problem with my knee. I do a lot of Pilates so have pretty good core stability but my pelvis isn't totally level, which may be adding to the problem. Blimey, it sounds like I'm falling apart...I think the fact that I do a fair amount of excercise just highlights any weak areas!
Beakyshark, sounds like you had a nasty time getting your injury sorted, glad it is all sorted now . Your comments are really interesting as now I'm using the cross trainer more and running less, after about 30 minutes on the cross trainer the bottom of my left foot is starting to go numb. I had just put it down to the fact that it was a repetitive movement etc. but now I'm starting to wonder. If you still have the number of the podiatrist you used, could you PM it to me please? It sounds like he made a massive difference to you and hopefully he can help me too!
Gilberts Fridge, no worries. If you are still after some excercises to strengthen your knees then lunges are really good for your knee stabilisers. You can also try standing on 1 leg, with the other bent out behind you - you then hinge down from the knee joint keeping your upper body upright, so the standing leg takes the weight, like a 1 leg squat. Hold that as long as you can then swap legs, do 3 times on each leg. If you want to look after your knees while you get fitter, cycling, swimming, rowing and even the cross trainer are good options.
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