I tore my ACL today

Edd · Jan 27, 2011

Skiing at SR this morning and having a great day. Wiped out and neither ski came off. I felt something give. X-rays indicate ACL is a goner = end of season.

So I'll be posting less (or more due to boredom) but you guys tear it up for me out there. Any advice from former ACL victims is appreciated.

Riverskier · Jan 27, 2011

Very sorry to hear that. I have torn both of mine, one in 1997 and one in 2004. Two pieces of advice: 1) Find a good surgeon. 2) Work your ass of in PT. I did both each time, and have had no problems with either knee ever since. I have never worn a brace (Dr. said I didn't need it) and still ski bumps, trees, etc. It obviously sucks for now, but the good news is that if it was a clean ACL tear with no cartilidge damage, you should back 100% by opening day next year with no future problems related to the injury.

WJenness · Jan 27, 2011

:-( Sorry to hear that. I hope you heal up fast and well.

Where did you wipe out?

I had a particularly nasty fall on Airglow last Saturday... My buddy almost wiped out in the EXACT same spot on Sunday.

-w

wa-loaf · Jan 27, 2011

Dr Busconi in Worcester is awesome. Did mine. I blew it in March and was ready to ski in December.

Vortex · Jan 27, 2011

Sorry.

4aprice · Jan 27, 2011

I'm very sorry to hear that. Rest up and get better. My wife had reconstructive surgery on hers several years ago and is back better then ever so don't despair too much. Hate hearing about those on the DL.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

deadheadskier · Jan 27, 2011

Damn Ed

That really sucks. Might as well get the shoulder fixed up at the same time.

powers · Jan 27, 2011

Welcome to the club.

We meet once a month for steak dinners and you even get a shirt.

Just kidding. I have had two ACL's replaced. One quad graft, one patella graft. Not a fan of either one, but the work was done in '89 and '95, or '96. I forget. All I know is that I'm due for a third ACL at some point. I currently wear a Don Joy brace to hold everything together while skiing and riding DH. My only tips would be:

1. Ask around (like your doing now). My second rehab was MUCH faster than the first due to having a different doctor that actually skied and rode bikes. He knew exactly what I needed and I listened to every word.
2. Don't skip on the rehab but also, don't overdo it! Ligaments heal much slower than the rest of the joint. You may feel strong, but it is easy to go out and do something stupid and undo all the hard work.
3. Be patient. These things suck in life but you can come back stronger for next season. Besides, you will have a whole season of getting fit before next year, you will probably go into it in the best shape of your life.

Good Luck!

Edd · Jan 27, 2011

Thanks for the well wishes and recovery stories.

DHS - PT seems to be working for the shoulder and I'm optimistic about that.

Wjeness - I was on Cascades on the left side of the trail. I hit an ice patch which caused a minor skid, no big deal; but the patch was short and my edges caught snow at the wrong angle...threw me down. I think it was the tumble after that injured the knee as the binding would not let go.

I posted a trip report recently in which I mentioned that I was surprised that my bindings had not released during a spill. I failed to have them checked later and that was stupid. This could have been a type of fall which was beyond the design capabilities of the binding to protect my knee.

I have no idea what I'm going to do with myself for the rest of the winter. I have a buddy and I bust his balls because he's such a friggin couch potato with a garbage gut. Yet, here I sit wiith a bum shoulder and jacked up knee both from athletic activities. Not sure which one of us is smarter.

Madroch · Jan 27, 2011

Beat. Heal quick.

persee · Jan 27, 2011

Edd,

Sucks. I know it personally. I tore my ACL at Wildcat on March 20th. Was lucky that i had no other damage in my knee, just the ACL and I had surgery on April 5th. All went well and I was cleared by PT to return to anything any everything on September 1st. Mine was a hamstring tendon autograft which has been great for me. I highly recommend my surgeon, Dr Lars Richardson.

So on the bright side this is something that can be fully recovered from, and quickly if you have good luck and are diligent with your PT. I was a bit obsessive on mine, but made sure I never pushed too far too soon. One thing you may want to consider, assuming that the only damage in your knee is the ACL, is that once the swelling chills out (it will!) you could consider skiing with a brace (for stability) the rest of this season and doing your surgery in spring. You won't do any additional harm, and this will probably help keep your muscle tone up pre-surgery. Mine was so late in the year it made sense to get the surgery as soon as possible.

So if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask as I am a very recent positive recovery. I have been skiing this year and all is well!

tjf67 · Jan 27, 2011

Edd said:
Skiing at SR this morning and having a great day. Wiped out and neither ski came off. I felt something give. X-rays indicate ACL is a goner = end of season.

So I'll be posting less (or more due to boredom) but you guys tear it up for me out there. Any advice from former ACL victims is appreciated.

They may have done the flex test to determine the the ACL is gone but I don't think an XRay would show.

You can get a brace and ski the rest of the year and get it done in the spring. I tore mine and was skiing the next weekend.

Got it done in July and was back up and going in six weeks. Still wearing a brace to ski it take a lomg time to grow into the bone. Not the end of the world.

SLyardsale · Jan 27, 2011

tjf67 said:
They may have done the flex test to determine the the ACL is gone but I don't think an XRay would show.

You can get a brace and ski the rest of the year and get it done in the spring. I tore mine and was skiing the next weekend.

Got it done in July and was back up and going in six weeks. Still wearing a brace to ski it take a lomg time to grow into the bone. Not the end of the world.

I would think you'll need an MRI to confirm torn ACL. If it is just the ACL, correct, just a brace will hold it together and go ski. When I did mine, I also strained my MCL - that is what ended my season as I needed 4 weeks for that to heal - at least I did mine in April.

Look for a surgeon that does 30 acl's a month, not 30 a year. I decided to use an alograft from a cadaver due to quicker recovery. Some surgeons highly recommend the quad or patella grafts - their gold standard - but cadavers are no longer scary. PT is critical. Embrace it. The braces they make now are comfortable - once you have it on, you forget it is there. Good luck to you. This injury is no longer catastrophic - it has become pretty routine.

EOS · Jan 27, 2011

Edd said:
Skiing at SR this morning and having a great day. Wiped out and neither ski came off. I felt something give. X-rays indicate ACL is a goner = end of season.

So I'll be posting less (or more due to boredom) but you guys tear it up for me out there. Any advice from former ACL victims is appreciated.

Edd - I was told the same thing (ACL is a goner) by an ER doctor after a flex test, 2 winters ago. He also X-ray'd the knee, but said that wouldn't show ACL....

Here comes the good news.... Had an MRI the next week and it showed the ACL was fine!!! Just a severe tibial plateau bruise.

Here's to better news from your MRI :beer:

Edd · Jan 27, 2011

The comments doubting the diagnosis certainly interest me. This guy was an ER doc in North Conway (sees many ski injuries). He was disturbingly confident and said he saw the tear, as well as bone fragments, which are an indicator.

I hope it goes a different way of course. The put all of the info, including X-rays on a CD so I can show a doc back on the seacost. The recommendations of certain docs down in Mass is something I should consider over the weekend, since I believe it's an outpatient deal.

skidmarks · Jan 27, 2011

Sorry to hear!! get well soon.

o3jeff · Jan 27, 2011

I'm pretty sure an x-ray only shows bone and your would need an MRI to see a torn ACL

RISkier · Jan 27, 2011

That sucks! Heal fast. Surprised it would show up on an X-Ray.

legalskier · Jan 27, 2011

Edd, I hope the second opinion is better than the first. If it makes you feel any better my wife just was told she needs a dental implant...and it isn't covered. :-o
Good luck.

Puck it · Jan 27, 2011

X-ray can not tell if torn for sure. Did he do the test where he bends the knee and rotates as he bends. This is pretty fool proof but not 100%. You can ski on it as alone as the doc thinks there is no cartilage damage that can be repaired. Go see an ortho before doing anything.

I tore my ACL today

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