Preventative care for gnarly wipeouts.

There are two ways that we hurt vulnerable joints and muscles in a sport in which impact is common:

*Intentional Impact- where the function is to stabilize a maneuver.

*Unintententional impact where there is no function because it is in response to a potentially dangerous wipeout.

Both types of impact can result in injury in commonly compressed joints, the joints with the highest impact compression are the ankles, knees, elbows, and wrists. In skateboarding particularly, impact injury is something to be expected and prepared for if one wants to progress. To understand the prevention of injury it is important to know the major differences between intentional and unintentional impact injury. The intentional impact would be considered a bailout, and unintentional impact, a wipeout. The intentional impact has anticipation and a plan. The unintentional impact is all about muscle memory as a response to something changing in a split second.The most important factor in both types is how to shift our weight to avoid injury.

Wiping out is a skill. There is grace and a magnetic quality to watching a skate athlete pushing to the edge of their abilities. Narrowly avoiding losing control, and working to improve through taking a risk. It is interesting to consider all the experiences an athlete has gone through both on camera, and off. How much raw effort was put into getting a line, and how those are moments the viewer may never understand. A portion of hard work that is deeply personal, and only truly appreciated by those watching with wide eyes at a crucial, and unique moment in time. Cameras rolling, time slows, and the question stands… will they land it, or will they fall short?

Slam! The skater was going front side and gets caught up in the feet because of too much speed. The skater loses control and hurls towards their left side with arms extended, wrists bracing. Every muscle in the body is tense and prepared for pain. In that split second the skater doesn’t properly absorb the fall into stronger parts of the body like the shoulder by keeping arms bent, and the wrist takes the worst beating in the fall. The fall itself could not have been prevented; the impact was unintentional. What could have been done differently is the body’s relaxation. When we tense the body in situations of potential pain, our response becomes an involuntary reaction. Just like on a really cold day when the wind is blowing right through you; when you relax and control your breathe the body is able to deal with the cold much more effectively. The same goes for unintentional impact. Once you are in a situation where you are falling, that split-second decision to relax your muscles, take a deep breath and absorb the impact through relaxed, bent joints the wipeout is far less likely to result in injury. In fact, this concept can be applied to an auto collision. Whiplash is a result of a high-speed impact, but most often the injury from whiplash comes from the neck and shoulder tensing on impact trying to prevent excessive movement of the head. 

Waterman who surf, dive, and spend time in the open ocean know the risk. They train with preparedness techniques as well as in their particular skill set knowing it’s fully possible to be held underwater for a long period of time. Having the ability to hold your breath for a prolonged period of time is one part of surviving a situation where you are wiping out and pinned underwater. The other part is the body’s response. Once held down, the waterman who can relax their body and mind, and create a plan for getting to the surface will have a higher chance of survival. Just like wiping out on the pavement, the preparedness for a moment can change everything. When you fall, ultimately the energy of that fall needs to go somewhere. If your body lands and all of that energy is absorbed into high impact joints like the wrist and ankles, you will have a sprain or fracture in your future. In short, movement upon impact is important. If you are thrown from your board and you are going to land on the hip, plan to roll and disperse that energy. If you are falling forward, plan to absorb that energy through relaxing the arms, and bending into the shoulders and elbows. If you drop in and you feel yourself slipping out crumple. In all of these situations, when fear defines our decision making, our body tenses up and we tend to tighten muscles that are attached to high impact joints. This is why ankle and wrist sprains are so common. Most of the muscles that affect those joints are long and are in the forearm and leg, so when we tense and hold our breath as opposed to taking a breath as we fall we tend to stretch these muscles, tendons, and ligaments in ways that they should not be used.

To practice wipeout technique I recommend these three steps:

1. Check your line- Once you know you are wiping out anticipate how you will distribute your weight and the impact energy. We don’t always have time to check our line, but if you do have the opportunity seize it! It will save you a potentially nasty injury. Practicing maneuvers and tricks is just as important as practicing wiping out. Being skilled at falls is a serious skill in the bowl, and in the street alike. Taking bad beatings is only cool if you can get up and keep skating.
2. Breathe support- So often in my practice, I will spend entire sessions instructing clients how to breathe from the diaphragm. If you are having difficulty with this concept refer to my “Breathing for Covid-19” blog. Oxygenating the body in a moment of body trauma is one of the best things you can do. Whether you are falling, about to be pinned underwater, or in a situation involving great challenge or fear, oxygenating the body is one of the best ways we can consciously respond. Breathe support will make everything function more optimally, especially the brain.
3. Relaxation and acceptance- When about to take a gnarley wipeout, it’s best to have accepted it before impact. When we fight this force, we tend to always lose. My first bad wipeout I attempted to run off my board at high speed instead of bending my legs and sliding out. The result was 4-5 high-speed somersaults on the pavement where I tore my hands apart. Most of us have taken a bad one, but if you haven’t my suggestion is to stop being afraid! Wipeouts teach us a valuable skill about acceptance and failure. Once you take a bad wipeout, you might feel apprehensive to try again, but that is the just mind and body’s healthy response attempting to not make the same mistake twice. If you have time to anticipate a wipeout, be relaxed, and avoid tensing muscles. 

Practice makes perfect! Don’t let unintentional impact be the first time you make a plan for yourself.