ACL/MCL tear Prevention?

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do.a.rodeo

Member
Aight, so my NZ season is coming up and I don't want to injure my knees... So NSG, what are the best ways to prevent knee ligament tears and keep your knees strong??? I've googled but there isn't much information related to newschool skiing etc. Discuss
 
Perhaps exercise? But i could be wrong and static strecthes nah that wouldn't do anything at all. Do any skating or anything along those lines?
 
I think this would help a fair bit. building strength and muscle would help keep the joints from hyper extending or twisting. But, nothing is a 100% solution, so just be smart and keep strong.
 
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and leg workouts/stretching in general.
 
one of the big reasons for ACL tears is an imbalance of strength between the quads and the hammys. most people are quad dominant, and so when the knee starts to exttend, the hammy cant take all the strain and the knee relies on the acl to stop the hyperextension.

Im guessing you never are in the weight room? get in there and hit the weights. Learn how to back squat properly, learn how to do romanian/straight leg deadlifts, and bike(intensley, it shouldnt be comfortable or relaxing) alot.

all the shit it says about preventing knee injuries in other sports, applies here...why wouldnt it?
 
^^^^ absolutely correct.
I'll add something though. You need a balance between your medial and lateral quads. The VMO runs from your patella up towards your groin. Tensing it with a straight leg makes it easy to find and its most active up to about 150 degrees but no more than that. Its responsible for pulling your quads straight. If your lateral quads are much stronger than the vastus medialus then you'll do what I did (dislocate your knee) or suffer from stability issues and do your ACL. Either way its not good.
Technically you can't isolate the VMO completely but there are exercises that can strengthen it. For me right now its a matter of walking normally or not so I HAVE to do this, but for most people its a chore that can easily be overlooked. Use sub maximal pressure on one leg and place your hand on the VMO. Try to flex that muscle without flexing the remaining quads. Its not easy to do so take your time learning with as little pressure as possible. Eventually you'll be able to partially isolate the VMO and really begin strengthening it. Doing massive squats wont help you here....its all about control and patience.
Google VMO for more details but the main thing to remember is that regular exercise doesn't really work this muscle, even though its vital for knee stability.
 
strenghten leg muscles (^^according to these guys) and stretch.

the rest is luck imo.

i have never had any problems with my knees. i wouldnt bet that i will never have an ACL tear but i have way more problems with my ankles.
 
whoa, throwing around the old VMO argument. I think that is a little played. You most likely dislocated your patella because you have weak external rotators (piriformis, glut med ect). These weak external rotators cause your leg to buckle in when you land (some people call it a valgus stress). When that happens, your patella shifts laterally because that is the strongest line of pull in your quads. I would focus on external rotator strength and core strength.

Google any plyometric program, that will help with proper landing. One good exercise is to try to jump up onto a box, but land on one leg. The keys to this exercise are landing softly (try to make as little noise on impact as possible), and try to keep your knee straight when you land, landing like this allows your E.R.s to contract, which keeps your knee in the lowest stress position.

PM me if you want any extra tips, i dig this shit
 
"Good" suggestion. However, it does have some conditions that need to be made aware of...

Low resistance spinning such as road biking without out of saddle sprints can actually make you more prone to knee injuries by overdeveloping one particular muscle group and not hitting the other.

Mountain biking (namely XC) is the best due to the likelihood of both spinning and high output sprints being used throughout the ride.
 
this. i tore my acl and mcl like 5 years ago and since then i've been lifting legs twice a week along with everything else. never had an issue since and they're stronger now than before.
get in the weight room if you want the best chance of injury prevention.
 
obviously did not mean to imply that you dont bend your knee. when i say "keep your knee straight", I mean bend at the knee and hip, but make sure your knee lines up with your ankle and hip when landing....
 
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