Snowboarding on a nice snowy day can be a marvelous adventure. You can snowboard for a fun way to enjoy your time or to develop your skills and participate in sports.
No matter what your goal is you will always need to take proper safety precautions to avoid any massive injuries. Snowboarders commonly face knee ligament or joint injuries, head and neck injuries, and ankle and wrists damage.
Knowing about the injuries, their reasons, and how to prevent them should be the first step for a snowboarder.
Do snowboarders wear knee pads?
Snowboarders need to wear lots of safety gear and knee pads are one of the most essential safety gear. As snowboarders develop their skills and perform several aerial tricks, the knee has to bear most of the strains. Knee pads help to prevent major injuries and reduce the load on the knee ligament.
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Do I need knee pads for snowboarding & Why?
To Prevent serious knee injury:
Snowboarding puts lots of pressure on your lower body hip, thighs, knee, ankle, and other leg muscles and joints.
Whenever you perform an aerial trick or need to land safely after a high jump, your knee will be going through a lot of strain and pressure. A bad landing might tear up the knee ligament. To prevent serious knee injury wearing a knee pad is a must.
To perform efficiently:
While performing any tricks or aerial moves If you know that your safety gears will be there to protect you from any major injuries you will get a confidence boost.
Performing and perfecting any moves takes lots of practice and the chance of making mistakes and falling is quite high, if you know that no matter how much you messed up with the trick or landing you won’t be going through major injuries you can surely perform efficiently.
Is snowboarding bad for your knees?
While performing any trick or landing from a high jump your knee will be going through a lot of up-down bending and twisting motion. Your knee joint and ligament will work as a suspension to reduce the impact of landing so it will go through a lot of pressure and strain.
A beginner snowboarder may feel pain in his knee as he will lack the experience to perform certain tricks and proper landing. For an expert snowboarder, the chance of feeling pain is pretty low as they would be able to get the basic principles right.
Wearing a knee pad will prevent any knee injury and give a performance boost. If a person is snowboarding without the safety gears the chance of knee injury is quite high.
Can I snowboard with bad knees?
If a person is going through minor injuries, muscle soreness, or a beginner who is learning to snowboard and facing a little bit of pain in the joints then it’s okay to snowboard.
However, a person with a serious knee injury, muscle inflammation and swell up shouldn’t be snowboarding.
It’s highly recommended to consult with the doctor and take proper rest to completely recover. Snowboarding with a seriously injured knee can lead to permanent muscle and ligament damage.
Are Knee injuries common in snowboarding?
In snowboarding, your knees will play a vital role in executing various aerial movements, keeping balance, changing direction, and landing.
Your knees will work as a suspension for your body and resist the sudden impact upon jumping and landing. So the most important part of your body used in snowboarding will also have to go through the most.
Your knees will have to go through many twists and bend so the amount of pressure and strains is gonna be pretty huge. Knee injuries are a pretty common phenomenon in snowboarding.
Not wearing proper knee pads and other safety gear, improper landing, and not taking enough rest for muscle recovery are some of the most common reasons for knee injuries.
Wearing proper safety gear and developing a good sense of movement and executing a proper landing will help you avoid knee injury. If you see any signs of inflammation around your knee take adequate rest and recover completely before going out for snowboarding.
What gear do you need when snowboarding?
Board and bindings:
To start your snowboarding journey you will need a snowboard and bindings.
You can choose your snowboard according to a specific style, there are alpine boards, freestyle boards, and many more. The binding will help your boots stay attached to the boards.
Snowboarding Helmets:
Snowboarding Helmets will protect your head and neck from any massive injury. A helmet will reduce the force of impact you might receive from a nasty fall. It’s one of the most essential gears for your safekeeping.
Knee pads:
Your knees will receive most of the impact of your landing. The aerial moves you will perform, the twist and bends, landing after a long or high jump, your knees will be there to reduce the impact and help you keep your balance.
Protecting your knee should be one of the major concerns for you. Wearing a knee pad will reduce the strain and pressure on your knees. Knee pads reduce the risk of knee ligament and joint injuries.
Snowboarding Goggles:
Snowboarding Goggles will protect your eyes from discomfort and dryness. It will provide you with clear visuals as well as reflecting harmful UV lights.
Wrist guards:
You will be using your hands to change direction, create drag and slow down while snowboarding. Your wrists will go through a lot to perform these tasks so wearing a wrist guard will help you beat the discomfort and protect you from major injuries.
Mittens:
As you will be directly putting your hands on the snow you would need something to deal with the freezing snow. A mitten will keep your arms warm, safeguarding you from getting frostbite.
Snowboarding jacket and pants:
It’s necessary to wear proper clothes to fight off the cold. Wearing a snowboarding jacket and pants will be effective in keeping you warm and safe.
Insulation:
Wearing insulating clothes before putting on the jacket and pants will give you an extra benefit while dealing with the shivering cold.
Snowboarding socks & boots:
Proper snowboarding socks & boots will keep your feet warm as well as giving you sufficient grip on the snowboard.
Backpack:
A bag will help you carry your identity card, first aid kit, GPS device, cell phone, survival kit, and money. These will surely come in handy if you get stuck in any situation.
Frequently asked questions:
Do snowboarders wear helmets?
Snowboarders wear helmets to protect their head and neck from any massive injury. As a beginner or an expert snowboarder, protecting their head is the utmost priority.
Receiving a major blow in the head or a landing gone wrong and hitting the head might lead to brain damage and other life-threatening events. Wearing a helmet can protect snowboarders from any serious concussion and also prevent any spinal injuries.
Do snowboarders wear wrist guards?
Wrist guards protect snowboarders from getting any wrist injury. Snowboarders put their hands on ice to drag, change direction, and slow down.
The hand and wrist go through a lot of pressure executing those movements and the wrist guards come in handy for protecting the wrist from any major injuries and giving a feeling of comfort for the snowboarder.
Do snowboarders wear gloves or mittens?
Snowboarders wear mittens. The mittens give sufficient protection from the cold weather conditions and fight against frostbite.
Snowboarders don’t need gloves as there isn’t any need for extra grip on any stick or handle to control the snowboard. Snowboarders use their body, legs, and hand to control the snowboard and mittens give an extra advantage on preserving the body heat.
Why do snowboarders wear goggles under helmets?
Snowboarders wear goggles under helmets to protect their eyes from any airborne particles. Wearing goggles under the helmets gives an extra grip and reduces the chance of losing it while snowboarding.
Wearing goggles is always recommended while snowboarding. If the eyes keep in contact with the winter breeze for too long it may cause irritation and dryness.
Why do snowboarders wear backpacks?
Snowboarders wear backpacks to carry their identification card, first aid kit, GPS, and other utilities. A snowboarder needs to use his legs, hip, upper body, and hands to change direction, slow down, keep balance and control the snowboard.
For a snowboarder holding necessary utilities in hand and snowboarding is quite troublesome so a backpack is there to ease up his snowboarding experience.
Why do snowboarders wear baggy clothes?
Wearing body-tight winter clothes will reduce the flexibility and mobility of the snowboarder. Baggy clothes are comfortable, give sufficient mobility, and preserve enough heat to keep the body warm.
I hope you got an in-depth idea of the safety gears and their specific purpose in snowboarding. Wearing the right safety gear and protecting the vulnerable parts of the body should be the utmost priority for a snowboarder.
Knee pads, helmets, goggles, wrist guards might take a few minutes to wear but they can save your life from a serious concussion. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Best of luck with your snowboarding.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Do snowboards need to be sharpened?
Can snowboard boots be used as snow boots?