Return To Snow - April 2017

Everyone's season is ending and mine is just beginning! This April I started skiing again for the first time after my third knee operation. In April 2016 I underwent a revision ACL reconstruction, LCL reconstruction, lateral and medial meniscus repairs. Learning from my mistakes after my last couple of surgeries I made the decision to wait 12 months before I started skiing again. It was a tough decision to make but I knew if I ever wanted to race again, this was the best option for me. This time round I was more thorough with my rehab and made sure I left not stone unturned before I started skiing again. In the meantime University has kept me busy, I've able to watch plenty of World Cup skiing on TV and I focused on the small improvements I've been making in the gym everyday.

During February this year I started developing patella tendonitis as a result of my plyometric training. A consequence of having 1/3 of my patella tendon harvested for my revision ACL reconstruction, is that I have a greater risk of developing tendonitis. It is however, something that can be easily managed by proper recovery and performing eccentric loading programme. Despite having taken 3 weeks off plyometric activities because of niggling tendonitis, my force plate test results improved dramatically and the first results from isokinetic testing were brilliant. 

The isokinetic tests showed that my hamstrings strength between my involved and uninvolved leg had less than 10% difference, and the quadriceps on my involved leg were only 13% weaker than those on my uninvolved leg - anything less than 10% is considered not significant. Since the first force plate testing I did in February, my reactive strength index increased by 58% and all my asymmetries were less than 10%! These results and being cleared for skiing by my surgeon in the days before gave me a huge amount of confidence.

Whilst I was only able to ski for 7 days this April, it gave me an opportunity to see how my knee would respond to skiing before I commit to a whole summer of training. After arriving at the BSA base in Aosta I gave myself a whole day off to get settled, unpack, get my boots sorted and rest to make sure there was no fatigue from travelling for my first day on skis. It would be easy to get caught up in the moment, but my return to skiing was inevitable, so it was time to focus and be patient...

During the first few days I started off with 3 runs of slide drills. Then each day I increased the number of runs as my knee adapted to this new stimulus. I focused on dialling in the basics: upper body facing down the hill, square hips and most importantly tall hips. In the past I used to ski in a very "at risk" position. Keeping my hips taller is not only a safer position to be in but also means I can ski faster. By the 4th day I started gently rolling my ski on the flats and by the end of the week I was carving conformably on medium gradient pistes.

It was incredible to feel my skis carving again. My body felt as if it had never been injured and my skiing was already visibly changing. The corduroy snow, bluebird skies and empty pistes were a treat and catching up with my teammates make the week even more enjoyable.

I could not be prouder of myself for sticking at another year of rehab. It was extremely mentally challenging but I tried my absolute hardest. If it were't for the advice and support of my S&C coach, surgeon, physio, nutritionist and the staff at Team Bath, I surely would not have had such a successful return to skiing - I can't thank them enough for going out of their way to help me

Thank you goes out to BSA head coach Kip Harrington who is leaving BSA this year, who always saw the potential in me and kept me on the straight and narrow. Congratulations also to Jake Lismore on a fab ski racing career - I hope you have an amazing time at university. You both will be missed but hopefully it won't be long before I see you again in the future.

I'm now back in Bath for the last few weeks of university and exams. There are still a couple of things I need to fine tune in the gym before my summer camps in Zermatt and Chile. I've come a long way from where I was a year ago, but there's still a lot of work to be done. I'm excited to see how my skiing is going to develop over the summer and even more so when I return to racing in the winter.