Rollerskiing Tendinitis

 

Dear SkiPost, 

 

After roller skiing for a couple of months last summer, I developed bad tendinitis, almost like tennis elbow in my left arm, which is not my strong side when skating. It's taken almost a year for it to finally improve. I noticed this past winter that skiing on snow it was fine and it did not aggravate it further. Could it be the hard, non shock absorbing of aspect of poling on asphalt as opposed to snow that caused this condition. I'm a little tentative to use poles this summer while roller skiing. 

 

Thanks, R   

 

Yes Rollerskiing can aggravate elbow tendinitis because if the impact from the hard pavement.  Having sharp ferrules (tips) really helps as you can place the poles more gently on the pavement and still get no slippage.  Many people also try softer flexing poles to reduce the harsh impact, but flexible poles often ads other vibrations to the situation and is not always a cure. Remember moderation is often the key to avoiding any ailment. Try double poling and Rollerskiing without poles, and if you are skating work on both sides. 

 

 Andy at SkiPost

 

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Tendinitis SkiPost Skier feedback 

 

Andy, In addition to your good comments, I think it's important to emphasize proper ski technique as lowering the risk of injury.  I've had shoulder problems ever since my first roller skate ski many years ago; hips-back body position led to banging my poles on the hard surface - for 2-plus hours.  Likewise, in double poling it's easy to let one's mind wander and forget to initiate poling each time with a strong ab crunch, i.e.,avoid arm poling.  

Gene Goldenfeld

 

Greetings, I too have suffered very bad elbow tendonitis from roller skiing.  Exel makes a shock absorbing tip which is quite helpful at reducing vibration.  They do slightly change the impact angle of ski tip and add a little bit of weight, but these two small sacrifices are well worth the benefit. See:  http://www.nordicskater.com/rolski.html  at the Nordic Skater website.  Jenex has indicated that they will also have a shock absorbing tip any day now.  However, they did not respond to my last request for an update on its expected release.

Hope this helps.Ken Roth Northville, MI

I have been roller skiing for nearly 30 years and am still going at age 74.  I roller skied about 500 miles last summer and fall to help train for the 2013 Marcialonga and it's about the only ski specific training I had for the race because we had very poor snow conditions in our area until the first part of February.  I had trouble with tendinitis in the past with roller skiing but found an easy solution a few years ago.  When I roller ski now, I just gently set the poles in contact with the pavement and then push off.  Your suggestion of keeping the tips sharp certainly helps, especially during cold weather when the asphalt feels more like concrete.  This solution isn't ideal if you are trying to roller ski in competition or at a very fast pace but it works just fine for long distance training.

Don J.

 

Andy, I had elbow issues years ago.  Wearing one of those strap devices with Velcro and a short section of bungee mitigated the pain, but I eventually switched to shorter poles for skating, (roughly hallway between skate and classic length) and my issues went away.  The short pole results in a less acute elbow angle at contact and was more favorable in my case. A number of  my customers over the years have success with this.  Many will get their panties bunched up for technique issues, but if you are injuring yourself something needs to change. 

Cheers, Tim Metos Wild Rose Sports

  

Hello SkiPost, I have addressed this several times in past years.  But have successfully avoided reinjury for over a decade - you can solve this problem.

 

Healing one of these takes a long time (several months depending) due to very limited circulation at the tendon insertion point where this injury occurs.  Ice regularly, use medication, go on YouTube for the many good rehab exercise videos and/or see a doc/PT.  Try the new prescription voltaren topical gel to see if it works for you.  Get healed up before you get back to hard roller work.  Time is as important as treatment for healing these.

 

Easy roller work outs <1hr seem to be ok for me once healing has begun.  To prevent reinjury, keep intensity dialed back for a couple months after your healed.  Consistent strength training & keeping some roller work going all year even when you can ski are helpful for prevention.

 

Tried lots of poles & ferrules.  Yes keeping them sharp is important.  Don't try to plant so hard they never skip out - be easier.Low end low carbon/glass poles often flex too much to use long ones for intervals.  But they are ok for easy distance.  Aluminum poles that taper significantly near the bottom have provided the best compromise between flex/stiffness - the skinnier & lighter the better.  I've tried both the Excel & KV shock absorbing ferrules.  They provide only a little additional shock absorption & both have so far been pretty fragile.

 

Best, TS

 

Andy, Please have your readers consider the SkiErg as a way to get some ski specif strength trailing without rollerskiing risks.  BP (See below an article by Judy Geer at SkiErg)

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