How Mikaela Shiffrin Regains Her Strength Following an Injury

Mikaela Shiffrin’s journey back to peak performance following her late-November 2024 crash in Killington, Vermont, reads like a master class in resilience and methodical rehabilitation. On November 30, 2024, Shiffrin tumbled aggressively into two giant-slalom gates and into the catch-fencing, sustaining a puncture wound to her right abdomen and “severe muscle trauma” to her obliques. The injury was dramatic enough that immediately after the crash, she required surgery to clean out the wound and remove scar tissue, prioritizing long-term health over a hasty return to competition . In the days following surgery, even simple movements became excruciating: as she later revealed, sneezing or laughing could summon intense pain, and for the first week she “didn’t have the core strength to even rise out of a chair” .

What followed was a meticulously planned, phased rehabilitation program designed by her physical-therapy team in collaboration with her personal coach and nutritionist. Phase one focused exclusively on restoring basic mobility: guided by a physical therapist, Shiffrin began with gentle thoracic and lumbar spine mobilizations, using foam-rolling techniques to release tightness above and below her injury site. According to a recent Women’s Health profile, her morning routine would start with targeted foam-rolling—first across the thoracic region, then the lumbar—to facilitate spinal mobility and reduce adhesions in surrounding tissues . This was paired with diaphragmatic breathing exercises to re-engage her core musculature without placing undue stress on her healing obliques.

After roughly two weeks of gentle mobilization, the second phase introduced light activation exercises to rebuild foundational strength. Shiffrin’s trainers emphasized safe core activation through “dead-bug” drills, kettle-bell halo rotations, and basic leg raises performed with strict form. These exercises, often executed lying on her back with her pelvis stabilized, allowed her to engage the rectus abdominis and transverse abdominis while minimizing lateral strain on the obliques. Resistance bands provided gentle isometric feedback, and sessions were limited to just a few minutes of work interspersed with rest, ensuring that pain levels remained manageable. By early December, she was able to walk outside her house again—an announcement she joyfully shared on social media on December 9, 2024—signifying a pivotal milestone in her recovery .

Once basic strength returned, Shiffrin progressed to what trainers call the “functional core” phase: exercises that mimic the rotational and anti-rotational demands of skiing. Here, she incorporated medicine-ball side tosses against a wall, Pallof presses, and oblique crunches performed on a Swiss ball, all under the close watch of her therapist. Each movement was scaled with progressive resistance: starting with light medicine-balls (1–2 kg) and slowly moving up, provided her soft tissues could tolerate the added load. At the same time, she began step-up drills, lateral lunges, and Bulgarian split squats to restore lower-body power and stability—key elements for generating the force needed to carve precise turns on snow. This phase lasted through mid-December, with sessions capped at 30 minutes to avoid overtraining and to allow tissues to adapt gradually .

In tandem with land-based work, Shiffrin leaned heavily on aquatic therapy to maintain cardiovascular fitness without aggravating her injury. Underwater treadmills and pool resistance exercises (e.g., hip flexion against currents, flutter kicks with a buoy) kept her heart rate elevated and muscles engaged while offloading the spine and abdomen. Water’s buoyancy also allowed her to perform dynamic trunk rotations with minimal ground-reaction forces, accelerating recovery of range of motion. This cross-training approach was crucial in preserving her aerobic base—a non-negotiable for a World Cup athlete accustomed to high-intensity training at altitude—and it kept her mentally sharp during a period when she couldn’t ski .

By early January 2025, roughly five to six weeks post-injury, Shiffrin entered the sport-specific reintegration phase. According to the official Olympics site, she targeted a return to snow training “in the next week or two,” aiming to re-establish muscle memory and proprioception on her skis . Her first on-snow sessions were limited to gentle drills on easy slopes—slow carving runs, unweighted gliding to feel edge engagement, and short rhythm drills through widely spaced gates. Coaches kept video feedback sessions short and focused on posture: maintaining a neutral spine and avoiding excessive lateral flexion, which could re-irritate her healing obliques. With each passing day, she added complexity: tighter gate drills, quick-edge transitions, and gradually longer runs, all while monitoring pain and fatigue levels closely.

Mentally, Shiffrin credits visualization and mindfulness practices with bolstering her confidence during this critical phase. Daily guided imagery sessions—where she mentally rehearsed perfect turns, weight shifts, and carve exits—helped bridge the gap between indoor rehab and outdoor performance. Breathing techniques learned during her initial therapy were repurposed on snow to maintain composure in challenging drill sequences. Shiffrin also leaned on team psychologists to process fears lingering from the crash and to rebuild trust in her body. This holistic approach—blending physical, technical, and psychological strategies—became a template for her comeback .

On January 30, 2025, precisely 60 days after her surgery, Shiffrin made her competitive comeback in the night slalom at Courchevel, France, finishing a credible tenth place despite missing the typical buildup and competitive rhythm . Rather than chasing podiums, the goal was to test the robustness of her rehab under the pressure of a start gate. She reported feeling “a little rusty” but “excited” to be back in the field—a testament to how thoroughly she had rebuilt both strength and confidence.

The final validation of her regained power came at the season finals in Sun Valley, Idaho, on March 27, 2025. Facing the top 25 slalom specialists and buoyed by a supportive American crowd, Shiffrin powered through two near-perfect runs to clinch her 101st World Cup victory—blowing the field away by over a second—and cement her status as one of the sport’s all-time greats . In a post-race interview, she credited her incremental rehab building blocks—mobility, core activation, functional strength, ski-specific drills, and mental training—for enabling her to return not only to competition, but to dominate once again.

Mikaela Shiffrin’s return from a potentially season-ending injury underscores the modern athlete’s multifaceted approach to recovery. It’s not merely about “ramping weight” in the gym; it’s a carefully orchestrated symphony of tissue healing, progressive loading, skill redevelopment, and mental resilience. Her story offers an inspiration—and a blueprint—for any athlete facing the daunting path back from injury, proving that with the right team, mindset, and plan, the summit of performance is still within reach.