Hi everyone, a long time lurker here but thought I might get around to asking for some help trying to understand some equipment issues I have the last few years as they relate to a specific injury. Its a long read so fell free to ignore this post but I being a scientist I can't help but provide a lot information when I have it
A few years ago I was competitive fencer but developed a muscle imbalance with my right shoulder being considerably stronger than my left. One day at practice I over extended my arm and ended up torquing one of my vertebrata between the shoulder blades. Now it popped back in to position quickly the muscles in my upper back keep thinking that it was out alignment and were constantly locked up for 3 months trying to "hold" the vertebrate in position. While locked up the the muscles become so tight that they crush the central nerve in between the shoulder blades, leading to crazy muscle spasms, migraines and numbness in the right hand.
This happened when I was 21 and after 5 years of one and off physiotherapy the issue has largely gone away, except the muscle memory comes back anytime my body has to tense up too much and it takes about a week for things to settle down again. Now where it relates to skiing is that I have found certain combinations of skis, boots and bindings tend to aggravate this injury but not others and I was wondering if others might be able to help me identify the pattern?
A bit about me, I am 26 years old ,5'11", ~160 lbs, and definitely qualify as directional skier that likes the odd combination of speed and finesse. I grew up skiing cross country only from age 2 -12 and quickly switched to alpine afterwards, skiing rossignol sl racing skis everyday from ages 14-18 with zero issues (aside from expected sinking on the pow days). My preferences are either to either be making big gs turns over the rollers or to spend my time in the trees and techy steeps when the snow is soft.
My current quiver of skis, i.e. most recent experiments are :
2018 Dynastar Speedzone FIS SL 165cm with Look SPX 12 Rockerflex and racing plate
2018 Nordica Enforcer 93 177cm with Look Pivot 12s
2019 Salomon QST 106 181cm with Look SPX 12s
2019 Atomic Bent Chetler 100 180cm w/ Warden 11s (Just purchased so I don't know yet)
Skis that have caused serious issues include:
2017 Salomon QST 99 181 cm w/SPX 12s
2017 Salmon QST 118 185 w/SPX 12s
2017 Blizzard Brahma 180cm w/Pivot 12s
2018 Volkl 100eight 181cm w/demo attack 13s (By far the most painful, and that was during a slushy day in march)
2014 Dynastar Omeglass FIS SL 165cm
2016 Skevik Lokens 106 180cm w/demo griffins
2017 Blizzard Bonafide 180cm w/demo griffins
2018 Blizzard Rustler 11 188cm w/mo griffins
Other skis that I've tried with no injury related issues:
2012 Salomon BBR 8.9 176cm w/demo STH 13s
2015 Rossignol Sin7s w/axiums
2016 Atomic Automatic 109s 189cm w/ Tracker 13s
2017 Rossignol Soul 7 188cm w/SPX 12s
2016 Rossignol Experience 88s 180cm w/demo STH 13s
2018 Rossignol Black Ops 118cm w/pivot 14s
My current theory is that when there is either a hinge point in the flex pattern or profile (e.g QST 118), the ski has little damping (100eights) and/or is too stiff for my weight (Brahma 180cm), too much of the vibrations and occasional bangs is transferred up my legs and instinctively my body is tensing up to take the load. Does this sound like a reasonable theory? Has anyone else encountered similar stories?
I have also noticed a general increase in the occurrence of these issues after switching my boots from Tecnica Inferno 110s to Lange RX 120 LV and I am attributing this to combination of boot stiffness and the more upright stance.
Thanks for reading this far.
A few years ago I was competitive fencer but developed a muscle imbalance with my right shoulder being considerably stronger than my left. One day at practice I over extended my arm and ended up torquing one of my vertebrata between the shoulder blades. Now it popped back in to position quickly the muscles in my upper back keep thinking that it was out alignment and were constantly locked up for 3 months trying to "hold" the vertebrate in position. While locked up the the muscles become so tight that they crush the central nerve in between the shoulder blades, leading to crazy muscle spasms, migraines and numbness in the right hand.
This happened when I was 21 and after 5 years of one and off physiotherapy the issue has largely gone away, except the muscle memory comes back anytime my body has to tense up too much and it takes about a week for things to settle down again. Now where it relates to skiing is that I have found certain combinations of skis, boots and bindings tend to aggravate this injury but not others and I was wondering if others might be able to help me identify the pattern?
A bit about me, I am 26 years old ,5'11", ~160 lbs, and definitely qualify as directional skier that likes the odd combination of speed and finesse. I grew up skiing cross country only from age 2 -12 and quickly switched to alpine afterwards, skiing rossignol sl racing skis everyday from ages 14-18 with zero issues (aside from expected sinking on the pow days). My preferences are either to either be making big gs turns over the rollers or to spend my time in the trees and techy steeps when the snow is soft.
My current quiver of skis, i.e. most recent experiments are :
2018 Dynastar Speedzone FIS SL 165cm with Look SPX 12 Rockerflex and racing plate
2018 Nordica Enforcer 93 177cm with Look Pivot 12s
2019 Salomon QST 106 181cm with Look SPX 12s
2019 Atomic Bent Chetler 100 180cm w/ Warden 11s (Just purchased so I don't know yet)
Skis that have caused serious issues include:
2017 Salomon QST 99 181 cm w/SPX 12s
2017 Salmon QST 118 185 w/SPX 12s
2017 Blizzard Brahma 180cm w/Pivot 12s
2018 Volkl 100eight 181cm w/demo attack 13s (By far the most painful, and that was during a slushy day in march)
2014 Dynastar Omeglass FIS SL 165cm
2016 Skevik Lokens 106 180cm w/demo griffins
2017 Blizzard Bonafide 180cm w/demo griffins
2018 Blizzard Rustler 11 188cm w/mo griffins
Other skis that I've tried with no injury related issues:
2012 Salomon BBR 8.9 176cm w/demo STH 13s
2015 Rossignol Sin7s w/axiums
2016 Atomic Automatic 109s 189cm w/ Tracker 13s
2017 Rossignol Soul 7 188cm w/SPX 12s
2016 Rossignol Experience 88s 180cm w/demo STH 13s
2018 Rossignol Black Ops 118cm w/pivot 14s
My current theory is that when there is either a hinge point in the flex pattern or profile (e.g QST 118), the ski has little damping (100eights) and/or is too stiff for my weight (Brahma 180cm), too much of the vibrations and occasional bangs is transferred up my legs and instinctively my body is tensing up to take the load. Does this sound like a reasonable theory? Has anyone else encountered similar stories?
I have also noticed a general increase in the occurrence of these issues after switching my boots from Tecnica Inferno 110s to Lange RX 120 LV and I am attributing this to combination of boot stiffness and the more upright stance.
Thanks for reading this far.
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