Physiotherapists can be good for everyone, for athletes even more so and especially for skiers. Frankie Pioli is a physiotherapist that lives and works in Chamonix, France. She has recently been appointed as physio for the Swiss Freeski team. So as well as a short interview, hopefully, everyone can benefit from Frankie's tips to keep you shredding well into the spring!
So you're a British physio, who lives in France, how did you start working for the Swiss freeski team?
I was treating Sarah Hoefflin, in summer 2018, and I guess she put in a good word or made a request that I have the job, as team physiotherapist. They tracked me down at the clinic I work at in Chamonix or through Sarah and the rest is history.
How did you first start treating Sarah?
She messaged me on my website or Facebook because I’d recently moved to where she lives and she was looking for a physio.
Where it all began, with Sarah. Instagram: physio_pioli
Is Freeski physiotherapy much different from ‘normal’ physiotherapy'?
There’s more injury prevention during the training camps. When I’m seeing the athletes, I’ve got more of an opportunity to do injury prevention and give them tips and advice that they can use throughout the season. I can also help keep their little niggles at bay whilst at comps so lots of taping, massage and stretching, keeping legs fresh.
In the clinic, I’m generally seeing the patient because they’ve got a problem that’s limiting them from doing something, and they need to get better with intense rehab training over time rather than; ‘I’ve got this niggle, I need to keep it at bay for the winter season,’ and keep them on the hill training and competing hard, and reduce risk of injury as much as I can.
Does the whole team see you, or are there some people that you’ve never seen?
By now, I think that I’ve seen everyone, but I definitely don’t see everyone every night. I’m there and available if they need me.
In the training camps, I’m in the park, in case something happens and there’s an injury or taping or a quick chat to sort anything out. Then I do physio in the evening, The same for the contests, I’m there with the other medics and physios from the other teams. Standing at the bottom, hoping that none of them fall and hurt themselves, but we’re there if they do. Then I treat them in the evening if they need it, so they’re ready for the next day.
Frankie at work with Fabian Bösch and Mathilde Gremaud
Do you get to ski yourself at all?
At the training camps, yes, a little bit. If something happens, I need to be there quite quickly, so I prefer to stand on the kicker, just in case. Hopefully, I’ll get to do some more skiing on some of the trips.
What trips have you got planned?
Well, It’s the whole FIS tour so far, so Stubai next week. Then Beijing and Atlanta, providing I can get my visa tomorrow!
Will you go to the X Games?
I'll be in Aspen and I think there is another X Games in Beijing, but I’m not sure if I’m going to that one.
It must be pretty busy for physios at contests, do you guys get to mix at all?
If there’s a crash, and somebody’s filmed it, we’ll put it in slo-mo and we’ll try and guess the injury, before you go and assess it, and have a little bet with your colleagues.
So your ‘day job’, being a physiotherapist in Chamonix, French Alps, is pretty ski-focused as well. Do you have any tips/advice for NSers, with the season starting now/soon for most of us?
There’s so much you can do and every individual is very different, but generally, a generic focus would be core strength. It gives you that balance, stability, and proprioception to help reduce the risk of injury, and could help you come back quicker from little injuries you might have… Just trying to enable good postural alignment, biomechanics working well.
Is it more important for freestyle skiers to stretch?
Yes and no, it depends on your body. If you’re quite a hypermobile individual, it’s probably better to be focusing on your strength and stability around the joints. Whereas, if you’re quite inflexible, then you should be working on your flexibility as well as stability, but generally speaking, I’d say stability is good for everyone!
Frankies’ three tips going into the season:
Endurance: So you can keep lapping the park and landing your tricks all day, rather than flaking out early. You can improve duration, just by doing many activities for a long duration. If there’s no snow yet, so you can’t go ski, could you go skating for the day, surfing for a few hours, hiking or anything just to try and build up your endurance. So low-level activities for a long time.
Strength: So strength in your legs to help landings, things like squats, single-leg-deadlifts, and reverse-lunges to work stability a bit as well… If you can get a physiotherapist or personal trainer to check technique and help you incorporate weights, that would be good as well.
Stability: Standing on one leg, Pilates and Yoga, those kinds of activities that are challenging your stability will be the ones that are going to help you have more control when you’re in the air and when you land.
So you're a British physio, who lives in France, how did you start working for the Swiss freeski team?
I was treating Sarah Hoefflin, in summer 2018, and I guess she put in a good word or made a request that I have the job, as team physiotherapist. They tracked me down at the clinic I work at in Chamonix or through Sarah and the rest is history.
How did you first start treating Sarah?
She messaged me on my website or Facebook because I’d recently moved to where she lives and she was looking for a physio.
Is Freeski physiotherapy much different from ‘normal’ physiotherapy'?
There’s more injury prevention during the training camps. When I’m seeing the athletes, I’ve got more of an opportunity to do injury prevention and give them tips and advice that they can use throughout the season. I can also help keep their little niggles at bay whilst at comps so lots of taping, massage and stretching, keeping legs fresh.
In the clinic, I’m generally seeing the patient because they’ve got a problem that’s limiting them from doing something, and they need to get better with intense rehab training over time rather than; ‘I’ve got this niggle, I need to keep it at bay for the winter season,’ and keep them on the hill training and competing hard, and reduce risk of injury as much as I can.
Does the whole team see you, or are there some people that you’ve never seen?
By now, I think that I’ve seen everyone, but I definitely don’t see everyone every night. I’m there and available if they need me.
In the training camps, I’m in the park, in case something happens and there’s an injury or taping or a quick chat to sort anything out. Then I do physio in the evening, The same for the contests, I’m there with the other medics and physios from the other teams. Standing at the bottom, hoping that none of them fall and hurt themselves, but we’re there if they do. Then I treat them in the evening if they need it, so they’re ready for the next day.
Do you get to ski yourself at all?
At the training camps, yes, a little bit. If something happens, I need to be there quite quickly, so I prefer to stand on the kicker, just in case. Hopefully, I’ll get to do some more skiing on some of the trips.
What trips have you got planned?
Well, It’s the whole FIS tour so far, so Stubai next week. Then Beijing and Atlanta, providing I can get my visa tomorrow!
Will you go to the X Games?
I'll be in Aspen and I think there is another X Games in Beijing, but I’m not sure if I’m going to that one.
It must be pretty busy for physios at contests, do you guys get to mix at all?
If there’s a crash, and somebody’s filmed it, we’ll put it in slo-mo and we’ll try and guess the injury, before you go and assess it, and have a little bet with your colleagues.
So your ‘day job’, being a physiotherapist in Chamonix, French Alps, is pretty ski-focused as well. Do you have any tips/advice for NSers, with the season starting now/soon for most of us?
There’s so much you can do and every individual is very different, but generally, a generic focus would be core strength. It gives you that balance, stability, and proprioception to help reduce the risk of injury, and could help you come back quicker from little injuries you might have… Just trying to enable good postural alignment, biomechanics working well.
Is it more important for freestyle skiers to stretch?
Yes and no, it depends on your body. If you’re quite a hypermobile individual, it’s probably better to be focusing on your strength and stability around the joints. Whereas, if you’re quite inflexible, then you should be working on your flexibility as well as stability, but generally speaking, I’d say stability is good for everyone!
Frankies’ three tips going into the season:
Endurance: So you can keep lapping the park and landing your tricks all day, rather than flaking out early. You can improve duration, just by doing many activities for a long duration. If there’s no snow yet, so you can’t go ski, could you go skating for the day, surfing for a few hours, hiking or anything just to try and build up your endurance. So low-level activities for a long time.
Strength: So strength in your legs to help landings, things like squats, single-leg-deadlifts, and reverse-lunges to work stability a bit as well… If you can get a physiotherapist or personal trainer to check technique and help you incorporate weights, that would be good as well.
Stability: Standing on one leg, Pilates and Yoga, those kinds of activities that are challenging your stability will be the ones that are going to help you have more control when you’re in the air and when you land.
