Preparing Your Back for Winter Sports – How To Stay Healthy

As autumn approaches, the leaves begin to change color, the air becomes crisper, and the days grow shorter. It’s a transition season, a perfect time to shift your fitness focus and get your body prepared for the colder months ahead. One of the best ways to do this is by strengthening your core. Whether you’re planning for winter sports like skiing, snowboarding, ice skating, or simply want to stay active and injury-free through fall and winter, a solid core is essential. Not only for performance, but for your spinal health.

Dr. Choi, a board‑certified spinal surgeon, recently shared a powerful message in a video on spine health: Watch Reel Here.  maintaining your core strength and a healthy weight can often make the difference between needing spinal surgery and avoiding it altogether. In this post, we’ll dig into what Dr. Choi said about core strength, why it matters especially as fall turns into winter, how to build that strength, and how it ties into your preparation for winter sports. For more information about spinal care, visit spinemedli.com.

What Dr. Choi Says About Core Strength and Spinal Health

Watch Reel Here

Here are the highlights from Dr. Choi’s reel:

• One of the biggest mistakes he sees in patients is letting themselves get overweight and losing core strength.
• In about 95% of his patients who end up needing spinal surgery, Dr. Choi sees that excess weight and weak core muscles are central contributing factors.
• Abdominal muscles, back muscles, these are intended to protect your spine and to offload the stress that otherwise falls on spinal structures. When you lose core strength, stress (from movement, from bearing weight) gets placed directly on spinal discs and joints.
• Dr. Choi has many patients who are 30‑, 40‑, 50‑pounds overweight, who are planning on multi‑level spinal reconstruction, but then lose weight and regain core strength, and their pain either dramatically improves or disappears.
• His biggest recommendation: maintain a healthy weight, eat well, and exercise regularly. Many spinal problems can be significantly reduced, or even prevented, just with these lifestyle changes. You can learn more about treatment options at spinemedli.com.

Why Core Strength Matters More 

As the season changes, several things happen that make your core strength more important than many people realize:

1. Colder temperatures lead to stiffer muscles. Stiff muscles are more prone to injury, especially if your core (which helps stabilize the spine) is weak.
2. Switch in activities: People tend to move differently in fall (raking leaves, hiking, maybe more time indoors). These changes can stress your spine in new ways, twisting, bending, lifting. A strong core helps you move safely.
3. Preparation time for winter sports: Slopes, snow, ice, all of these increase risk. Starting early gives you time to build strength, improve balance and endurance, and avoid starting winter with preventable aches or injuries.

If you want to explore preventive care and spine health tips, visit spinemedli.com.

Winter Sports + Spinal Demands

If you are planning to ski, snowboard, snowshoe, ice skate, or engage in any sport once snow and ice arrive, core strength will be your ally. Here’s how:

• Balance & Stability: Turning, carving, and reacting to uneven surfaces all require a stable core.
• Absorbing Impact: Jumps, moguls, bumpy trails, your spine faces shocks. Strong core muscles help absorb those without passing all the force to the spine.
• Posture & Control: Good posture reduces the chance of overextending or twisting awkwardly during movements.
• Endurance: A weak core means you fatigue faster. Once fatigue sets in, form suffers, and that’s when injuries happen.

Core Strengthening Exercises You Can Start Now

Dr. Choi recommends incorporating core exercises that build both strength and spinal stability. The best part? You don’t need any fancy equipment, just consistency and proper form. These exercises are simple but highly effective in helping you protect your spine, improve posture, and prep your body for winter sports.

1. Plank
   The plank is one of the most effective exercises for full core activation. It targets the abdominal muscles, back, and glutes, all essential for spinal support. To perform a proper plank, start in a forearm push-up position with your elbows directly under your shoulders. Keep your body in a straight line from your head to your heels, engaging your core throughout. Hold the position for 30 seconds to one minute, depending on your fitness level. Aim for 2–3 sets.
2. Dead Bug
   This low-impact exercise is great for building coordination and deep abdominal strength while teaching your body to stabilize the spine during movement. Lie on your back with your knees bent at 90 degrees and arms extended toward the ceiling. Slowly lower your right arm and left leg toward the ground, keeping your lower back pressed to the floor. Return to the starting position and repeat on the opposite side. Perform 2–3 sets of 10–12 reps per side.
3. Glute Bridge
   The glute bridge strengthens the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back muscles that play a big role in supporting the lumbar spine. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Press through your heels to lift your hips off the ground, forming a straight line from your shoulders to your knees. Squeeze your glutes at the top, hold for a few seconds, then lower back down. Complete 2–3 sets of 10–12 repetitions.
4. Russian Twists
   This dynamic core exercise targets the obliques, improving rotational strength and control, especially helpful for athletes who twist through the torso, like skiers and snowboarders. Sit on the ground with your knees bent, feet either planted or slightly lifted. Lean back slightly to engage your core, then rotate your torso from side to side, touching the ground on each side with your hands or a light weight. Perform 2–3 sets of 15–20 twists per side.
5. Squats and Lunges
   Although these primarily target the legs, both squats and lunges activate the core to maintain balance and upright posture. For squats, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, engage your core, and lower down as if sitting in a chair. Keep your chest up and knees aligned with your toes. Lunges can be performed forward or backward; the key is to keep your spine tall and your knee in line with your ankle. Aim for 2–3 sets of 10–15 reps each.

Maintaining a Healthy Weight

Dr. Choi emphasizes that excess weight, especially in the abdomen, increases the load on your spinal discs and facets. Think of carrying extra load in front of you: your back has to lean more, your spine has increased compression, your muscles work harder just to maintain posture.

Ways to support healthy weight:

• Balanced diet rich in vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains.
• Regular cardio to help burn fat. Walking, cycling, swimming, whatever you enjoy.
• Strength training (including the core work above) to build lean mass, which increases metabolic rate.

Real-Life Examples: Avoiding Surgery by Building Your Core

Dr. Choi’s experience shows this again and again: patients who have weak cores, are overweight, and in pain, sometimes facing multi‑level spinal surgery, but after committing to lifestyle changes, losing weight, strengthening back & ab core muscles, report major relief. In many cases their pain reduces so much that surgery is no longer needed.

These aren’t rare cases, they are common enough for Dr. Choi to say: core strength + healthy weight = biggest non‑surgical tool he can offer his patients. Learn more about non-surgical conservative treatment options at spinemedli.com.

Practical Tips: Starting Now

Here are some ways to begin putting this into action as fall begins:

1. Set Realistic Goals – e.g. “I’ll plank 3x/week,” or “I’ll do core workouts twice a week.”
2. Schedule – Include core workouts early in your exercise week so energy and form are good.
3. Mix It Up – Combine strength, mobility, cardio. Cross‑train so you don’t overuse any one group of muscles.
4. Monitor Nutrition – Don’t just eat less; eat smarter (quality over calories).
5. Rest & Recovery – Sleep, hydration, stretching—these help muscles recover so you can build strength safely.

If you’re looking for professional guidance, schedule a consultation with Dr. Choi.

Wrapping Up: Small Changes, Big Impact

As fall settles in and we look ahead to colder months and winter sports, it’s a perfect time to strengthen your core and focus on your spinal health. Dr. Choi’s message is clear:
Maintain a strong core, stay at a healthy weight, and you could avoid unnecessary spinal surgery.

Whether you’re a winter athlete or just want to stay pain-free through everyday movements like shoveling snow or raking leaves, taking the time now to build core strength can pay off long-term.

Want to hear Dr. Choi’s full thoughts on this topic? Watch the video where he explains how core strength and weight loss can significantly reduce the need for spinal surgery.