Imagine skiing down a steep snow-covered mountain, the wind stinging your ears and the steady swish swish of your skis keeping rhythm with your heartbeat.

For some, this might sound like a sure way to end up in rehab. But if you remove the element of danger and the cold wind that layers your goggles with ice, you’ve got an effective way to rehabilitate patients with lower-extremity injuries.

That’s the concept behind Dynamic Edge by The Skier’s Edge Co., Park City, Utah. Simulating the movements of a downhill skier, the machine has helped athletes and nonathletes with knee and ankle injuries in our facility for nearly a year. We’ve also developed new protocols to expand its applications.

We originally decided to purchase Dynamic Edge because we deal with a lot of skiers. We believed this equipment could bridge the gap between clinical rehab and training, and the ski slope. We quickly found out however, that Dynamic Edge could help more people than just skiers.

The lateral motion of the machine was ideal for many athletes returning to an activity that demands side-to-side motion, such as basketball, volleyball, football, hockey, racquetball, swimming and soccer.

Dynamic Edge’s solid engineering and well thought-out resistance patterns made it a great rehabilitation tool for the elderly population as well. We’ve had great success using Dynamic Edge with patients who’ve had total knee replacement, for example.

In addition, Dynamic Edge also benefits patients with unstable ankles. The machine’s foot pads invert and evert the ankle in safe ranges, allowing these patients to begin cutting drills without the risk of reinjuring the ankle in early stages of healing. The ankles can invert and evert at even greater ranges if the therapist employs Dynamic Edge’s single-legged platform, which increases the level of difficulty.

Along with helping us treat patients with knee and ankle problems, the machine had yet another surprising application for patients with injured backs. By incorporating medium-to-high level lumbar stabilization exercises, we increased lumbar stabilization in patients with back problems. The machine has several levels of progression. But when dealing with low-level functioning patients, make sure patients start at a level they can master.

As we continue to find numerous applications for Dynamic Edge, the manufacturer is also coming out with new developments for expanded uses, one of which is a shoulder attachment for shoulder rehab. This should lead to some exciting possibilities in closed chain rehab for the shoulder.

Even without these new advances, we’ve found Dynamic Edge versatile and helpful in our facility. We enjoy working with a machine that’s limited only by the clinician’s imagination.

Dale J. Hanssen, M.S. is an Exercise Physiologist at The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital, Salt Lake City, Utah the official sports medicine provider for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association.