Sunday, May 15, 2011

A PSA for budding derby girls: Please Take Care of Your Knees

Everyone has already told you to get good knee pads. I'm telling you again--get good knee pads. If there's one area not to cheap out on when you're first starting roller derby, this is it.

I have awesome knee pads. Not only does it feel like landing on a tiny fluffy cloud when I do knee falls, they look cool too. I highly recommend them.

However,  I still have knee pain. There are two circumstances under which I tend  to fall: 1) I'm attempting a maneuver I haven't mastered yet, like  hockey stops or 360's. 2) We're doing a drill that involves lots of cutting across the track & I collide with someone. I'm not doing  contact, so I fall waaaay less often than most of the other skaters.

So if I don't fall very often, I have great knee pads, and I've only been doing this for 6 months, why the knee pain?

Answer: I am weak.

Like, literally, the muscles and ligaments that support my knee are weak. It's not just impact, it's strain that causes pain.

Your  practices probably include a lot of squats, leg lifts and stretches. If  you're having knee pain, pay close attention to them and try to do them  properly. There are tons of resources for that online, and try to get some direct one-on-one instruction from a veteran skater.

Also, give yourself a knee massage before and after practice, and whenever it feels ouchy. Here's how:


Take  care of yourself. If you do injure your knee beyond just typical  workout pain or weakness pain (you will know the difference) see a  doctor, and follow orders. Following the advice above should minimize  the risk that you'll end up needing drugs or surgery one day.

And  for fuck's sake, don't take anti-inflammatories as a precautionary  measure! Inflammation serves a purpose when you're putting strain on  your muscles and joints. Your body needs to be free to respond to the stress you're putting on it.

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