Vail – Twenty-five years ago, the world’s leading knee mechanic, Dr. Richard Steadman, developed a post-surgery knee test for the heavily medaled U.S. Ski Team of the early 1980s.
The thigh-burning test has since evolved into one of the most grueling fitness tests for everyday skiers, even those whose knees never have seen a surgeon’s scalpel. At Vail’s Howard Head Sports Medicine Center, the demanding test represents the pinnacle of knee strength and is a required early-season assessment for every member of the U.S. alpine ski team.
It focuses on developing strength and endurance in the quadriceps, hamstrings and trunk, and it typically requires several weeks of post-surgery training for a passing grade by the clinic’s physical therapists.
For elite athletes, the test’s first step is single-leg squats using resistance with rubber surgical tubing. The pros are required to continually squat and extend on one leg, reaching angles of 70 to 90 degrees between thigh and calf for 90 seconds. Tension on the cord is required for both the dip and extension of each squat. First-timers do the squats without resistance – reaching only comfortable angles between thigh and calf – for 30 seconds before progressing to resistance squats.
For added challenge, the hard-core skiers do the single-leg squats while balancing on a small inflatable disc and reaching down to touch five small cones on the ground. They touch the cones with each hand while balancing on each leg. It’s much harder than it sounds.
The second step in the so-called Sport Test addresses lateral agility. Testers leap sideways – roughly the length of their leg – upon landing, drop into a leg squat. Beginning testers should try 20 repetitions. Professionals wrap the surgical tubing around their waist and leap for a thigh-broiling 80 seconds.
The third step of the test involves forward and backward jogging while tethered to a surgical cord. Testers are asked to flex their knees into a single-leg squat with each step of a slow motion run. To pass this test, run forward for two minutes and backward for two minutes.
Athletes who pass this test should emerge with a stronger leg than they did before injury, said Vail clinic manager Molly Scanlan. The test does more than build muscle and agility – it restores confidence. A passing grade eliminates trepidation that often lingers following an injury.
“The goal of the test is to get you back into the ski season better than ever,” Scanlan said. “The stronger you are, the less likely you are to be injured.”
