Downhill skiing

I used to live in Vancouver and still eat my heart out whenever friends over there post their bluebird ski pics. But skiing in fresh “powder” (AKA ‘west coast concrete’) is indeed a cardio workout!

Since I’m just a month past my THR, I can’t speak from experience, but my initial thought was if you can run, surely skiing green and blue slopes must be easier on the body!

Here is an encouraging forum thread I found on the topic – the OP has arthritic knees along with arthritic hips too. link

• This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by shosking.

Hi Chris – over on SurfaceHippy we have several happy skiers, John C is a professional ski instructor in winter and windsurf instructor in the summer, had his first hip resurfaced in 2008 and the second one done in the last year or so. No problems apparently and he skis to a very high standard. I used to ski but hardly at all since the kids, neither of them took to it, would be happy to get back on groomed runs with my pair of odd mechanical hips.
PS – raced 26.5km (virtually) today and rounded it up to 30k in 3 hours by walking/jogging. Lots of pain around ankles, none from hips…

• This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by Petemeads. Reason: 26.5 not 16.5!

Hi Chris, downhill skiing is one of the activities I asked my surgeon about returning to and he said no problem – just stay away from cliffs and maybe hard bumps. I have a family practice doctor friend who had a hip THA in July, a knee replacement in December and skied on groomed intermediate runs in March the following year. He said it was 2 to 3 runs per day that first year, but he is back to both downhill and nordic without any problem – lots and lots of squats! I’m four months post-op, and may try a few runs yet this year 🙂

Good luck,

Brian

Hey Chris. I’m well into my hip replacements. I had a replacement in Early November, Skied Michigan hills in Late January and Skied Colorado in the Spring. It was tender, but fine. As years past I became more and more aggressive. Also, I ran a half marathon on my 6 month replacement anniversary, So…. I Skied Colorado and Ran a Half, all within 6 months of my replacement. Many Bluebird Days are in your future!

I have two THRs, 5 years ago. I teach adaptive (handicapped) skiing and snowboarding in PA. My recommendations: Get fast (GS) skis. I rip down groomed runs, including steeps, and have a blast. All-mountain or slalom ski’s will draw you into moguls, trees, etc, which is fun, but save them for a very occasional treat. On powder days, rent powder skis (don’t forget the powder straps). Moguls put a lot of pressure on the hips and knees, powder a bit less, crud about the same. Groomers at speed very little. Also, wear crash pads (hockey) briefs. Breaking the femur is the worst thing you can think of, and 1/2 inch of foam will help. Go to high end resorts that have gondolas, or at least foot rests on their chairlifts. Dangling the heavy equipment adds stress that you don’t need. Choose your times wisely, weekdays means much less standing in lift lines. IM me if you like. Best. Jimmyc