Ordination Dr. Maximilian Kasparek
MK Orthopädie Währing
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22. January 2026

Knee pain af­ter ski­ing: Cau­ses & tips

Knee pain af­ter ski­ing: Wha­t’s the cause?

Whe­ther ski­ing, snow­boar­ding or cross-coun­try ski­ing – the knees are par­ti­cu­larly chal­len­ged du­ring win­ter sports. It is the­r­e­fore not sur­pri­sing that many sports en­thu­si­asts com­plain of knee pain af­ter an ac­tive day of ski­ing. But what is the cause of the dis­com­fort? And how do you re­co­g­nise whe­ther it is a se­rious ski­ing in­jury or just harm­less overuse? 

In this ar­ticle, we ex­plain the most com­mon cau­ses of knee pain af­ter ski­ing, what ty­pi­cal ski­ing in­ju­ries may be be­hind it and when a vi­sit to the doc­tor is advisable.

Com­mon cau­ses of knee pain when skiing

Two of the most com­mon knee in­ju­ries in win­ter sports are:

  1. Acute ski­ing injuries

Both in­ju­ries usually oc­cur due to twis­ting, falls or un­fa­voura­ble loads du­ring de­s­cent. They lead to sud­den pain, swel­ling and fee­lings of instability.

  1. Other cau­ses of knee pain af­ter skiing

An acute in­jury is not al­ways the cause of the sym­ptoms. The fol­lo­wing fac­tors may also be considered:

    • Over­load or mus­cu­lar im­ba­lance: Com­mon in un­trai­ned ath­le­tes. The knee com­pen­sa­tes for a lack of mus­cle strength – espe­ci­ally in the thighs.
    • In­suf­fi­ci­ently trai­ned mus­cles: Lack of pre­pa­ra­tion leads to the knees ti­ring quickly and be­co­ming inflamed.
    • Car­ti­lage da­mage (chon­dral le­si­ons): In ol­der peo­ple or af­ter re­pea­ted stress, pain­ful car­ti­lage in­ju­ries can occur.
    • Li­ga­ment in­ju­ries wi­t­hout a tear: Sprains or par­tial rup­tures of the la­te­ral or cru­ciate li­ga­ments cause per­sis­tent pain.
    • Me­nis­cus ir­ri­ta­tion or con­tus­ion: Even wi­t­hout a tear, the me­nis­cus can be­come ir­ri­ta­ted by compression.
    • Un­happy Triad: A com­bi­na­tion of ACL tear, MCL tear and me­nis­cus tear – a se­rious ski­ing in­jury with leng­thy healing.
    • Bur­si­tis: Pres­sure and falls can lead to ir­ri­ta­tion of the bur­sae – of­ten with swel­ling and pres­sure pain.
What to do for knee pain af­ter skiing?

  • Not every pain im­me­dia­tely me­ans a tear or a se­rious in­jury – but you should still be careful. This is how to re­act correctly: 

    • Stop stres­sing the knee immediately
    • Cool the knee (e.g. with curd wraps or a coo­ling pad)
    • Ele­vate and im­mo­bi­lise the leg
    • No self-dia­gno­sis – it is bet­ter to have it che­cked by a doc­tor early on

    In par­ti­cu­lar, if the sym­ptoms do not subs­ide af­ter one to two days or the knee feels unsta­ble, an or­tho­pae­dic sur­geon should be consulted.

Con­clu­sion: Take knee pain af­ter ski­ing seriously

Knee pain af­ter a day of ski­ing can be harm­less ove­r­use re­ac­tions – or the be­gin­ning of a se­rious ski­ing in­jury such as an ACL tear or me­nis­cus da­mage. An­yone who re­co­g­ni­ses sym­ptoms early and re­acts cor­rectly can avoid con­se­quen­tial da­mage and get fit again more quickly. 

Fre­quently as­ked ques­ti­ons (FAQ)

Do I al­ways have to see a doc­tor for knee pain af­ter ski­ing?

Not al­ways – but if the pain does not im­prove af­ter one to two days, the knee swells or is unsta­ble, a doc­tor should be consulted.

How do I re­co­g­nise if it is a se­rious in­jury?

Ty­pi­cal sym­ptoms of ACL or me­nis­cus in­ju­ries are stab­bing pain, a fee­ling of the knee gi­ving way or a blockage in the knee. Swel­ling also in­di­ca­tes a more se­rious injury. 

What is the Un­happy Triad?

This re­fers to the si­mul­ta­neous in­jury of the an­te­rior cru­ciate li­ga­ment, me­dial col­la­te­ral li­ga­ment and me­nis­cus – a com­mon but com­plex knee in­jury when skiing.

Can ove­r­use also cause pain?

Yes. Espe­ci­ally if the mus­cles are not well trai­ned, pain can oc­cur due to ove­r­use or mus­cu­lar imbalance. 

What can I do to pre­vent knee pain?

Good warm-up exer­ci­ses, tar­ge­ted strength trai­ning be­fore the ski sea­son and clean tech­ni­que on the slo­pes help to re­duce the risk.

Do you have knee pain af­ter ski­ing or su­spect a ski­ing injury?

In my pri­vate prac­tice in Vi­enna, we ex­amine your knee in a tar­ge­ted man­ner and plan fur­ther the­rapy – whe­ther con­ser­va­tive or surgical.
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Priv.Doz. DDr.
Maximilian Kasparek, MSc
haelsi Gesundheitszentrum im Achtzehnten Theresiengasse 46/2 1180 Vienna

+43 1 399 08 63
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