After I sustained significant injuries from a crash in the bike park in September 2019 and was left with a costly medical bill, it was immediately evident that getting BLISTER+ and its corresponding injury insurance would be a very smart move. And at the start of the 22/23 ski season, that proved to be true.
I had a dumb little crash in the terrain park at Crested Butte Mountain Resort. I was trying this little transfer flat-down rail, jumping from the flat section to the small down section, when I landed a bit back-foot-heavy and started to slide out. This down rail was quite short, and I ended up landing on the snow on my feet, heavily on my uphill edges, and with my skis pointed across the hill but my body’s momentum continued forward. I ended up very backseat in somewhat of a twisting motion and felt a sharp pain in my inner right thigh. This pain only got worse over the course of the day, and it was clear that I was dealing with an injury that would have me sidelined for a bit.
I took the next several days off from skiing. I guessed that I was dealing with a pulled muscle, and did my best to R.I.C.E. the muscle as best I could. Because the idea of going to a doctor just to have them tell me that I needed to continue to rest — then having them hand me a fairly hefty bill — just didn’t seem worth it to me.
Then I remembered: I have BLISTER+ injury insurance, so the doctor’s visit would be covered, no deductible.
So I arranged to see a local orthopedic surgeon as quickly as possible. I have pretty good health insurance already, but I didn’t even check whether the medical provider I was visiting was within my insurance’s network, because with BLISTER+ it doesn’t matter — there are no “in network” or “out of network” stipulations, so you know you’re covered.
At my appointment, the ortho informed me that I had strained the adductor muscle within my inner right thigh, and there wasn’t much he could do other than prescribe me some physical therapy. Nevertheless, I now knew what was going on in my leg, and I was on my way to getting back on snow.
I then scheduled physical therapy as quickly as I could, in large part, because BLISTER+ injury insurance also covers PT.
I had never been to physical therapy before, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. My physical therapist did some assessing and knew exactly what was going on with my leg and how to treat it. She suggested using dry needling to alleviate pain and tension in the muscle and restore proper function more quickly. She also coupled this dry needling with massage, and prescribed exercises to strengthen the muscles around my adductor.
The next morning, I was already feeling much better. I had worried that this injury was going to haunt my early season, especially because I had a trip planned up to Washington state in early January. But after just my first PT session, I went from feeling about 70% healthy with a strong chance of getting reinjured, to feeling almost 90% and having much more confidence that I was going to be quite close to 100% for my upcoming ski trip and the rest of the ski season.
Again, the fact that I didn’t have to pay extra for these PT sessions is a big factor as to why I even went in the first place. And not needing to worry about the cost of each session has me completely focused on my recovery, not the financial burdens behind it.
I had imagined that the first time I’d use my BLISTER+ membership & injury coverage would be in a similar situation to my big crash in September of 2019. I’d totally wreck myself and need BLISTER+ to cover a multi-thousand-dollar medical bill. But, in this instance, my BLISTER+ injury insurance was most definitely what inspired me to get the proper care for a less catastrophic injury.
Without BLISTER+ I wouldn’t have gone to see a doctor, I wouldn’t have gotten physical therapy, and I probably would have limped my way through my early season, perhaps even missing the ski trip I had planned. BLISTER+ allowed me to get the proper care I needed without worrying about the cost.
Dylan Wood
Senior Editor, BLISTER