What do Mikaela Shiffrin, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, Petra Vlhova, Alexis Pinturalt, Sofia Goggia, Corinne Sutter, Marco Schwartz, and several other World Cup ski racers have in common? They all sustained serious injuries that ended their seasons prematurely (except Mikaela who has missed several races so far due to a knee injury). As my title suggests, this spate of season-ending injuries is alarming not only for the racers themselves, but also for the White Circus’s many fans who are missing out on seeing their heroes demonstrate power, agility, and courage as they hurtle down the mountains at high speeds. It’s also a major worry for the national ski federations and the FIS that want to have the best athletes in our sport competing head to head all winter.

There have been many theories about what has caused so many injuries this race season. Everyone is looking to see if there is a trend toward more injuries in recent years. But the first question to be asked is whether the injuries so far represent a departure from the norm. There is a natural tendency to focus on the most recent injuries (because they are easy to remember), rather than remembering past seasons’ injuries, and assuming that there have been more this year than in the past. We can only look back on recent years to see if this year has, in fact, produced an unusual number of serious injuries.

Also, from a statistical perspective, there is no way to tell at this point whether this season’s injuries, if they have occurred at an unusually high frequency, are what is called a “statistical aberration” (meaning the high number of injuries just happened by random chance) or is a pattern emerging of a significant increase in injuries due to potentially identifiable reasons.

There has been much speculation about possible causes for so many injuries:

• So many scheduling changes due to bad weather or limited snow has created undue stress on the World Cup athletes.
• An already demanding World Cup race schedule that doesn’t provide sufficient opportunities for training and rest.
• Inadequate snow resulting in rougher, and more dangerous, course conditions.
• Too many World Cup athletes trying to race in more disciplines, thus creating increased fatigue and insufficient training in their primary events.
• Too many media and sponsorship responsibilities.
• Distractions caused by the need to be posting to social media regularly.
• The pressure World Cup athletes feel to push their limits to be competitive.
• Or my favorite, “S&%# happens in ski racing!

This rash of injuries is also of significant concern for those professionals who study and look for answers to why injuries occur, how to prevent them, and how to treat them. I’m currently on a dissertation committee for a Swiss doctoral student, Philippe Muller, who is going to study how to prevent ski racing injuries in young racers. In a recent committee call, members had a fascinating discussion offering psychological explanations for the injuries and suggestions on how to prevent them. In other words, could a certain type of mental training help prevent injuries?

I provided a rather conflicting perspective on the value (or lack thereof) of mental training in injury prevention. In theory, mental tools such as mental imagery, relaxation training, focus training, intensity regulation, emotional management, stress mastery, breathing, routines, self-talk, among many others, could better prepare ski racers mentally and physically for the extreme demands of ski racing, thus potentially reducing the risk of injuries. Now here comes the conflict. Those very same tools are ones that I use with World Cup ski racers to help better prepare their minds and bodies to push their limits and find ways to go faster. And, of course, with higher speeds and greater risk, more injuries are likely to follow. You see the contradiction here: that which might prevent injury may also cause it.

Preventing Injury Among Young Ski Racers: Lessons Learned from the World Cup

While identifying the causes of this “epidemic” of injuries on the World Cup is purely speculative, I believe that these same potential contributors to injury can also make young ski racers more vulnerable to injury as the winter progresses, the race season gets long, and it takes a toll on their minds and bodies. Here are some steps racers can take to keep the hounds of injury at bay:

• Adequate rest and recovery (one day off a week, 3-5 days off as you enter March),
• Proper fueling and hydration off and on the hill (your body can’t stay healthy without sufficient nutrients),
• A consistent physical maintenance program (to minimize the loss of strength),
• A commitment to mental training (consistent mental imagery, adherence to your training and race routine, positive self-talk, meditation),
• Listen to your body and mind (if they tell you to miss a training session or take fewer runs, please get the message).

I can’t guarantee that my “prescriptions” will remove the risk of injury completely. At the same time, I will say with some confidence that racers who follow my suggestions will be healthier, fitter, more motivated, confidence, and focused, and better prepared to finish the season strong. And in that improved physical and mental state, I believe that the almighty gods of ski racing will look kindly on you and allow you to complete the race season in one piece (of course, one of those gods of ski racing is Loki who gets perverse pleasure out of we mortals’ pain).