Clubhouse Chronicles: Athlete recovery and support at AVSC — a closer look at rehabilitation and resources with athletic trainer Erin Young

As many of us know, injuries are inevitable in skiing. At the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club (AVSC), we do as much as we can to prevent injuries from happening. Between year-round strength and conditioning programs, incorporating injury prevention strategies in and out of season, and having a full-time athletic trainer (that would be me) available to treat and manage injuries, AVSC has a breadth of resources for our athletes.

My name is Erin Young, and this is my fifth season as the athletic trainer at AVSC. I love what I do because I get to incorporate all the things about athletic training, in a “non-traditional” setting of skiing and snowboarding: injury evaluation, injury management, rehabilitation, sports performance and so much more. I am constantly challenged, and no day is ever the same. I love being a part of AVSC and a part of its effort to produce top skiers and riders while always striving to get more kids on snow. I also love having the support and resources of The Steadman Clinic in my professional development and as a resource for our staff and athletes.

Fortunately, where we live, we can take our pick of world-renowned orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists, and other specialists that focus on injury recovery and working with an athlete to get back to peak performance. Teamwork is one of AVSC’s core values, and while teamwork comes into play in many ways, we are able to truly collaborate with the best caregivers and specialists in the country to assist in our athlete recovery. This is true for most all AVSC athletes with serios injuries. Most recently I’ve had the pleasure of helping to treat and assist Hanna Faulhaber’s recovery.

Hanna is a professional halfpipe skier for US Ski Team, reigning world champion, and AVSC alumni. She injured her knee training at Buttermilk this past January. She was first stabilized by Buttermilk Ski Patrol, and we got her into the Steadman Clinic immediately for evaluation and a same day MRI. This quick approach resulted in the diagnosis of her injury within the same day of her injury. She had surgery two days later and immediately started her recovery and preparation for next year’s halfpipe season.

Hanna started working daily with Sarah Miller and Chris Peshek, her physical therapists, the US Ski Team’s performance and medical staff, and me at AVSC. In a typical day, she attends physical therapy with Sarah or Chris, before heading to the AVSC gym to work with me for continued lower extremity strengthening and an upper body, core, and conditioning workout. Her favorite rehab tool at both PT and at AVSC is the blood flow restriction exercises (if you know, you know). This rehab and strength progression will continue until she’s ready to return to skiing late this summer or fall. Between now and then, she will follow a progressive program to get her back on skis, and eventually halfpipe skiing, all while continuing to strengthen and get back into competition shape.

Hanna is a professional athlete who has top-of-the-line resources for her recovery. Theoretically it’s her full-time job to rehab and get back to skiing as quickly and safely as possible. Ultimately her recovery is being managed by the US Ski Team, and she’ll spend some time rehabbing and testing with them at the Center of Excellence this spring, but she is thankful for the opportunity to do so much of her level of care and rehab at home in the Roaring Fork Valley.

What many people may not know, is that most of these resources that Hanna is utilizing are the same as what any injured AVSC athlete would have access to — quick evaluation, referral options, physical therapy, coordination of care with a recovery team, return to snow progressions, injury prevention, and more. Whether it be a major injury, or a nagging minor injury that is still holding back an athlete from their full potential, we never want to lose anyone to an injury. It is our goal, and my personal goal, to continue to try to find ways to support athletes on and off the hill.

Clubhouse Chronicles is a behind-the-scenes column written by the Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club that runs periodically in The Aspen Times.