GrendelsAre you supposed to stretch before skiing? I know for running and most sports you aren't since it is actually bad to stretch before the exercise and it is recommended to do light cardio or something to loosen you up, but that isn't really practical with skiing.
So should I stretch before or what? Usually I just take a few easy runs when I first get on the hill, but I doubt that actually does much.
Ehh, I don't think thats true, there's also a big difference between dynamic stretching (leg swings, stretches where you move), and static stretching (just touching your toes or something - stretching without movement). I've always heard its best to do some dynamic stretching and light cardio before exercise and then light cardio and static stretching after.
I generally do a warmup (lame I know), consisting of some leg swings, a short run in my ski boots (gets my legs working), and then a couple mellow warm-up runs of just various size turns. This gets my muscles warmed up and nice and loose.
After skiing I drink a shitload of water and try to stretch out immediately after. I use a foam roller as well. Sometimes I'll put some ice on my knees or whatever. I find another really important thing with stretching is to stretch your whole body - go nuts, stretch everything. A lot of knee pain is caused by tension in other parts of your body, if your ankles or calves are tight they'll pull on your knees.
I have a chronic knee condition that's caused me a lot of pain over the past few years but making sure I do a legit warmup and cool down, and stretch every day, has really helped me.