As soon as snow starts to stick on the mountains, it's only a matter of time before the slopes are filled with skiers of all ages and talent levels. One aspect of skiing that can often affect every skier on the slopes are sore calves. Your body relies on your calf muscles to help you turn, stop,and stay upright while gliding down the mountain. If you are relatively new to skiing, or it's your first ski of the season, this can often lead to soreness and pain.
DOMS
Some soreness is natural for skiers, as the intense resistance affecting the muscles of the arms and legs as you propel yourself down the mountain can create small tears in the muscle tissue, resulting in pain and sometimes noticeable inflammation. When pain from these tears develops 12 to 24 hours after skiing, the American Council on Exercise advises, this is mostly likely delayed-onset muscle soreness, or DOMS. As the muscle tissue has a chance to heal and rebuild, the pain will subside. As you ski more often, the affected muscles will build back stronger, resulting in less pain after future runs.
Injuries
In some cases, soreness may be due to an actual injury to a muscle, particularly in cases where the soreness develops while you're skiing. Common ski injuries that could result in soreness include sprains of the knee joint, such as of the anterior cruciate or medial collateral ligament, thumb sprains, meniscus injuries around the shin and knees, pulled muscles and even torn muscles after severe falls or extreme muscle use. If soreness develops into serious pain, or if soreness does not start to subside after 24 to 48 hours, see your doctor to ensure that you haven't suffered a more serious injury.
Reduce Inflammation
One way to help reduce the soreness that has resulted from skiing is to stem any associated inflammation with the muscle tears or other injury. You can reduce inflammation using the method commonly referred to by the acronym RICE. The "R" represents resting the affected muscle. "I" stands for icing the affected area. "C" represents compression, such as wrapping the sore area with a compression bandage. "E" stands for elevation, or raising the injured area up to a level that is above your heart.
Treat Pain
To treat any immediate pain from sore muscles after skiing, consider taking an over-the-counter pain medication. There are several different types of pain medications that don't require a prescription from your doctor, including acetaminophen or a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory such as ibuprofen, naproxen or aspirin. For soreness associated with a severe injury, your doctor may prescribe a more powerful prescription anti-inflammatory or muscle relaxant.
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