Mental preparation for returning to skiing after injury

[Kimmyt]

I haven't skied since my ACL replacement over a year ago, so I'm not sure if I will be able to slide right back into it without any psychological impacts, confidence, fear, etc.

Wondering if anyone has come back from a ski injury and if they dealt with these things, or if anyone can offer tips or tricks.

I'm considering selling the skis I got injured on, I do love them but I don't know if they're the right skis for my first season back and thinking a fresh start might not be a bad thing.

 

[contesstant]

Welcome back!! Unless you were in Banff, you picked a good season to miss last year.

It's normal to have fear and hesitancy after coming back from a serious injury. My injury was in 2015 and I STILL have flashbacks on occasion! With that, be patient with yourself, listen to your body, and start out on easy terrain that you are very comfortable on. Avoid going when it's crowded if at all possible. If you have a favorite ski buddy, try to have them join you.

My determination definitely outdid my fear when it was time to get back out there, and I also sold the skis I got hurt on. That's not an irrational thing to do, I don't think.

 

[SnowHot]

I haven't skied since my ACL replacement over a year ago, so I'm not sure if I will be able to slide right back into it without any psychological impacts, confidence, fear, etc.

Wondering if anyone has come back from a ski injury and if they dealt with these things, or if anyone can offer tips or tricks.

I'm considering selling the skis I got injured on, I do love them but I don't know if they're the right skis for my first season back and thinking a fresh start might not be a bad thing.

Not a ski related, but when I had my bike crash and had 11 fractures in 8 ribs and a broken collar bone, I had a really hard time getting back on the bike and still ride quite timidly.

As @contesstant said above, fear is natural and being tentative is a big part of that. I'm pretty sure you've got this. We're cheering for you.

Also... go ahead and sell the skis. Let us know if we can help you find a good replacement. We've got demo fleet we're getting rid of for some really good pricing.

^^^ This is not self-serving, but I'm aware of your skiing style and can help you with that if you'd like.

 

[Napyhed]

Agree with all the above. I broke my wrist on the board 1/20/25 and wanted to get back before the season was over so it did not weigh on me all summer. It took me a long time to get on the lift and go down once I was up there. I rode the edge all the way down and then took a break. I am still trying to shake the fear and reach the speed I was at when it happened.
Just wanted to say I am/was there myself and still working through the fear.

 

[gourmetJo]

I completely can relate to how your are feeling. I tore my ACL in February of 2020. I had been skiing that year on a new pair of skis that were longer than my previous skis. I was convinced that I should sell those skis and get a new pair that were shorter. I went to the store where I purchased my skis and spoke with the owner. He looked at my skis and suggested to "detune" my skis, which at the time I didn't understand what that exactly meant. He suggested I ski with them one more time and see if that helped my confidence to return. He smiled and said as much as I'd love to sell you a new pair of skis, these skis are great skis and you should give this a try.

Ultimately he was right. I skied a little more cautiously at first but I did eventually regain my confidence and didn't need new skis. I'm now skiing skis that are even longer than the skis that I had when I was injured.

It takes some time to shake that feeling and regain your confidence. I always do an easy warm up run as my first run of the day which helps to set me up to feel more confident. If I'm skiing and I start to doubt my ability I push those negative thoughts away.

I did a women's clinic in Vermont with a sports psychologist and every woman there had the same story: skied for years confidently, had an accident, and now has lost there confidence. That clinic has probably been the single best thing I did to be able to ski and not think about getting hurt. The sports psychologist suggested tips and tricks to deal with our fears and lack of confidence. By the end of the clinic I was skiing so much more confidently and now if I'm faced with a negative thought I have the mental tools to push away those thoughts.

There's nothing wrong with getting new skis if you think it will be a good fresh start but you may need to find other ways to rebuild your confidence. Hope this helps.

 

[Workevader]

I have had 3 knee surgeries , acl surgery and now have had 2 hips, 2 knees and 2 shoulder Replacements. I ski at Alta and I am 71. Don’t stop! Get back out there and just take it slowly to start.

 

[DebbieSue]

^^^^ Impressive!!! Did the same surgeon do all of these? You should be their poster child!!
And excellent advice!

 

[Jilly]

Talk about the bionic woman!!! You go girl!

 

[diymom]

Just listen to your body, and take it easy to start. My first year back I did get a lighter pair of skis (Blaze 86) to limit the weight hanging off my knee on the lift. But I knew that the skis I had been on were in no way to blame for my fall, so they just took a year off and I'm happily skiing them again.

In hindsight my biggest mental setbacks since getting back out there were rooted in physical issues. I just wasn't as physically ready as I thought I was. I've since learned to recognize some of the signs that the leg with the new ACL is getting tired, so I can call it a day before my brain starts messing with me too much (hopefully that won't happen this year). I honestly think my current mental issues on the hill are more related to experiences from the tired leg than from the fall that did my ACL in. Long story short, don't skimp on pre-season fitness and pay attention to your body. You'll be fine.

Oh, and yes, I was nervous my first day back on skis. I even considered wearing a different jacket and pants so I could go incognito on the bunny hill I started on the magic carpet and got a sense of what a newbie feels when nearing the end of the conveyor. I think it was only two runs on the bunny hill and I decided I couldn't take that anymore and headed to the chair. DH did make me promise to stick to green runs that first year since I wasn't officially cleared to ski yet. My ortho wanted me to wait until a year after surgery, which was in May, so that would have meant missing the entire season. But I had it in my head that I was going to get back out before the 1 year anniversary of my fall. I felt ready, and was afraid if I waited until I was cleared the nerves would just get worse. I got out two days before the anniversary, in early Feb. Now I'm hoping for a chance to ski that fateful run all the way to the bottom at some point -- a kind of closure maybe?

For me, getting out there before the one year mark was something I felt I had to do. If selling your skis and getting a fresh start on a new pair is something you feel will help, do it. You deserve it.

 

[skibum4ever]

As most of you probably know, I had a major accident several years ago. I broke my tibia fibula femur and knee. It took me 16 months to return to skiing. This year I had a full knee replacement in May. I fully expect to be terrified when I get back to skiing. But this is supposed to be a great ski season in both Mammoth and Keystone. I hope to ski a lot of days in both places.

 

[skibum4ever]

On the advice of this forum, I too bought the Vollk Blaze. It was a shorter length and had a narrower waist than what I was skiing previously.

 

[Robyn]

Just popping in to say hi Kimmy and welcome back. While not injury, I'll be returning this season after several seasons of low fitness and high weight which lead to very timid skiing. Now that my fitness is 100x better and I'm well on my way to dealing with the weight issues (I'm only about 10lbs from my lowest weight in the last 20 years) I'm hoping to gain back confidence to ski the way I know I can. Would love to connect with you on the hill!

 

[Kimmyt]

@Robyn that would be great! I'm actually really stoked on returning with a higher fitness than I had pre injury, which tbh was probably a major factor in the injury. But I feel like I've been doing my homework with my pt and strength training.

I'm also feeling weird about this whole thing, because I have never approached skiing from a place of fear. And I'm not afraid, exactly, I'm just.... worried I will be afraid? Hah, if that makes sense. Like, I might not be. I might feel fine on my skis, I guess my brain is just going 'but what if my relatiionship with skiing changes!?' and really, I should probably not even think about it until it happens.

@SnowHot, I'd love some recs on skis. Part of my issue is that I love a big charging ski and I don't even know where I'd start to look for something that is not that.

 

[SnowHot]

@SnowHot, I'd love some recs on skis. Part of my issue is that I love a big charging ski and I don't even know where I'd start to look for something that is not that.

Lets talk personaly so I can see where you're at in your progression now.

 

[GladeDuchess]

Hi @Kimmyt . You might get some tips from the book "A Conversation With Fear" by Mermer Blakeslee. She specializes in overcoming different ski related fears.
I had some mental hangups of my own, though not ski injury related, but found some good mental tricks in the book, and she does discuss some stories of those she worked with with ski injuries.

Just hang in there and be patient with yourself. Don't push too hard and let your confidence build back up.

 

[Jenny]

I'm also feeling weird about this whole thing, because I have never approached skiing from a place of fear. And I'm not afraid, exactly, I'm just.... worried I will be afraid? Hah, if that makes sense. Like, I might not be. I might feel fine on my skis, I guess my brain is just going 'but what if my relatiionship with skiing changes!?' and really, I should probably not even think about it until it happens.

That’s pretty much how I felt on my first day back after my ankle injury. Don’t have it on my tablet, but I made my DH take a picture of me and @vickie after my first run back. Big smiles! It didn’t take long to feel comfortable again, but I did stay on greens and blues that first season back. (You know, just in case, like you can’t get hurt on one of those, even though it was a blue run that did me in. Brains don’t make sense.)

 

[Chuyi]

I have had 3 knee surgeries , acl surgery and now have had 2 hips, 2 knees and 2 shoulder Replacements. I ski at Alta and I am 71. Don’t stop! Get back out there and just take it slowly to start.

We got to connect. I ski Alta too

 

[VermontLady]

I haven't skied since my ACL replacement over a year ago, so I'm not sure if I will be able to slide right back into it without any psychological impacts, confidence, fear, etc.

Wondering if anyone has come back from a ski injury and if they dealt with these things, or if anyone can offer tips or tricks.

I'm considering selling the skis I got injured on, I do love them but I don't know if they're the right skis for my first season back and thinking a fresh start might not be a bad thing.

It’s definitely hard to return after injury. No one wants to get hurt again! The older I get the more true this is! Skiing is such a huge part of my life. I think there was equal parts excitement and hesitancy to get back at it. I did take it slow and gradually you get back to where you left off. Best of luck.

 

[marge]

Uuuugh. I feel for you. I just got clearance from the ortho today that I can ski this winter. I suffered an upper extremity injury (terrible triad - 2 fractures and a torn ligament). I'm still doing PT so we are going to start working on strength and conditioning. Thought about hitting one of those ski simulators to get back into the feel of it. Good luck. I told my hubby, "This time I'm just going to fall and get a concussion as that's surely much easier to heal from than this." ROFL

 

[Verve]

Did you get one of the custom braces after your replacement? I wore mine skiing for most of the first season back and then again in the spring when the grabby feeling of the snow started spooking me. Helpful as a mental prop as well. I also did more uphill in my first season back because it felt good on the knee and meant I could spend a nice amount of time enjoying the mountain without it all being a ski descent which I found more fatiguing.