There is no denying that skateboarding is a great sport that will strenthen some of your muscles in a great way. No doubt, it will help you in your weight loss journey as it burns calories. Your mental health will also be improved if you skate regularly. But, there is evidence that sometimes it can be dangerous for some, especially for knees. Ever wondered is skateboarding bad for your knees?
“Well, in a general sense, skateboarding is not that bad for knees if you perform some basic moves. Whether it is bad or not depends on how you play the sport. Maybe you do airs on ramps or even jump on gaps. If you do these tricks regularly, it may hurt your knees.”
If you are still confused, this article will clarify everything properly. Let’s discuss when skateboarding can be bad for the knees and how to avoid such issues.
Is Skateboarding Bad For Your Knees?
There is no doubt that skateboarding will give your body many benefits. Because performing different tricks with your skateboard demands a great level of physical effort. Truly, this sport is a great form of exercise. Now, you may feel concerned about your knees while skateboarding. Will it harm your knees? Typically, it won’t. Instead, it will strengthen the ligaments and even the muscles through the knee joint.
Whether you talk about stretching the hamstrings or making your quadriceps strong, skating will be there to help you out. That said, you should be careful while performing some particular skateboarding tricks. For instance, while doing uplifted tricks, be it lipslide or even the layback ground, you should think about your knees.
Those tricks can hurt your knees. The harsh truth is if you do extreme workouts or down gaps, you may get affected with arthritis. Besides, if you are someone who tends to drop on one single knee, it may go hard on your knees. In that case, try to get top-notch skateboarding knee braces so that you can avoid potential damages.
Preparation is so important. Otherwise, you may end up causing potential damages like a knee sprain. Although there are many reasons for knee sprain, in most cases it happened while doing a split or obstacle handling during the skate. Unusual skateboarder falling is also responsible for this injury. No wonder, it takes a good amount of time to recover from knee sprains.
In some worst cases, you may need special surgery or therapy to get the full recovery from knee pain and other injuries. So, the best practice is to perform skateboarding in a disciplined manner. Keep your speed level in mind. If you can control speed, you will be safe in many cases.
What Are The Most Common Skateboarding Injuries?
The nature of skateboarding is pretty much accident-prone. Most importantly, any severe awkward accidents can happen in no time. Different types of accidents can happen due to skateboarding. Below I will discuss some of the common types of skateboarding injuries that you should be aware of.
Scratches and Bruises
Like other types of sports that involve physical activities, skating may also cause severe harm to your body. Scratches and bruises are pretty common in skateboarding. Besides, it will be you who will hurt yourself.
As there are no opponents in skateboarding, be careful about where are you landing. In most cases, you will hurt your ankles and shrines if not take precautions. If you get hurt, try to use some ice in the affected area to ease your pain.
Heel Bruises
Heel bruise is another typical type of injury in time of skating. If you don’t know about the heel bruise, let me clarify for you first. If you lose balance when you are already in the air and land on your heel, this phenomenon occurs. It doesn’t matter where you land, you will be injured.
However, the severity of the injury mostly depends on the height from where you lost balance. Take rest, apply ice and do pretty much compression and elevation. In most cases, you will be healed quickly. However, if you don’t recover within a few days, it will be a wise decision to go to a doctor.
Hot Pockets
It is a common term used by most skateboarders. In this case, your ankle will be hyperextended upwards. It happens when toes will be bent towards your shin to a great extent.
If you put your max portion of the body weight while landing, it may end up causing this injury. Typically, you will get a quick recovery from it. But, when there will be repetition, you may not recover quickly the next time.
The treatment procedure is similar to the previous one. But, if you don’t recover within a few days of the injury, don’t forget to go to a doctor.
Sprained Ankle
Aske a regular skateboarder, he will tell you about this injury at first. No doubt, a sprained ankle is one of the most common injuries that a regular skateboarder faces. I never heard about a skateboarder who skates regularly and doesn’t sprain his ankle at least once in their history.
This injury can happen in two common ways. First of all, you may land half on the ground and another half on the board. Another one is landing directly on the concrete. The main reason for this is losing balance, being not able to take proper decisions while skating, etc. If this injury happens, you must consult your doctor immediately.
Broken Wrist and Fingers
It is quite obvious that you will use your hand to protect yourself when you fall. That is the reason, you may end up breaking your wrist. Likewise, injuries can happen in your fingers as well. I won’t be surprised if some of your fingers get broken during a skating injury.
Whether you have a broken wrist or fingers, you must go to your doctor with immediate effect. Because wrist injury may seem like other minor injuries in the first place. But, it is indeed a severe injury and you should take good care of that.
Back Pain
Yes, you may feel back pain due to consistent chocks or slams you may put through your body. No wonder, you may also face discomfort in your back. You need to take some stretching sessions after skateboarding.
Not doing that is one of the major reasons for having back pain. There is no denying that back pain can become severe quickly. That’s why you must consult with your doctor as soon as possible.
How To Prevent Skateboard Injuries
As the proverb goes, ‘prevention is better than cure.’ So, it is better to take necessary preventive measures to avoid skating injuries. Below I will share some valuable tips that will help you in injury prevention.
Inspect Your Skateboard
You must inspect your skateboard regularly. There may be some cracks that will lead you to severe injuries. Besides, you may also find other flaws in your skateboard. For instance, check that if it gives you proper grip or wheels are in their right position and they are not in a loose condition.
In short, make sure that the skateboard is in a good condition to give you the best level of user experience. On top of that, if you are a beginner, you should start with shorter decks. As a result, you will be able to handle it easily. Try to find a budget friendly skateboard at the beginner level. But, make sure it comes with every feature that you need for a safe ride.
Shoes
You should put on flat shoes which are specially designed to give you a great grip of the deck. I prefer slip-on or shoes with laces. But, you must make sure that there is no excess lacing that is hanging.
Otherwise, it may cause another injury. There are many skateboarding shoes available in the market. Typically, there will be very little arch support in those shoes. On top of that shoes must be well fitted so that no heel slippage occurs. Also, make sure that your toes are getting enough space inside of the shoe. It will reduce your risk of injury.
Flexibility and Strength
Another great tip for you is to do calf stretching regularly. You should do it whenever you skateboard. Doing that before and after every skating session will ensure that your core muscles are flexible and strong enough to handle the physical hurdles.
Location
Where you skate is also equally important. Because if you skateboard in an area full of mess like debris, cracks, or even rocks, you are more prone to injuries.
Besides, you shouldn’t go skating during rain or on any wet surface. You may find skate parks in your locality. These types of parks are specially designed so that you can skate at your ease.
Skating Techniques
You should start with your basic skills first. Don’t move to the advanced techniques quickly without practicing properly. You should learn how to land safely while skateboarding. Gradually move for the advanced level of skating tricks. It will minimize your injuries; I do not doubt that.
How Do You Strengthen Your Knees for Skateboarding?
I won’t deny, skating is one of the most injury-prone sports. That being said, it is also true that it is a great sport that helps your muscle development. It also strengthens your muscles.
So, is skateboarding bad for your knees or other body parts? I already answered this question above. If you take proper preventive measures and know all of the skating techniques properly, skating won’t give you much knee injury.
Skateboarders suffer due to the following reasons in most the cases-
- They don’t wear proper protective gear.
- They already suffer from physical extremities.
- Don’t know how to land correctly.
- They have Weak muscles
- Didn’t prepare
To strengthen your knees, you need to do some effective exercises. First of all, warm up your body in the right way beforehand. Then you must do some exercises before and after your session. Start with basic warming up session. Warm up your hands, hips and perform circular turns.
You need to stretch the calf by heating them correctly. You should do this stretching exercise regularly, but make sure that you are not doing this excessively. You should perform squats that involve your feet. As a result, your thigh and pelvis will strengthen.
You should also make your ankles stretched. Take proper rest. But make sure that you have done warming-up after your skating session. It will properly tone up your muscles. Wear protective gear like knee pads, gloves, wrist guards, etc. on your knees and hands so that you can ride safely.
Final Words
Many people love skateboarding because it’s a fun sport alongside being a good cardio workout if intended as such. It’s a great sport which will make your muscles strong and improve your mental health as well. But, skating can cause severe injuries as well, especially on your knees. So, is skateboarding bad for your knees? I hope now you know the answer. Take every measure, wear safety gear to reduce the chance of injury. Stay safe. Happy skating!
