Anyone ski park without an ACL?

ShredTheGnarnia

ShredTheGnarnia

Active member
So I first tore my ACL Feb 2010. Got it fixed immediately then retore it Sep 2010. I elected not to get it immediately fixed, and skied Alta this season with a Donjoy Defiance brace. I didn't ski any park, but was able to shred pow and ski some nice lines.

The plan was for me to get it fixed again June 28, but some stuff happened with our insurance and now the earliest I will be able to get it done is mid-July. I'm going to CU Boulder next year, and I move in on Aug 17. This means I would be limping for the first bit of school, making getting around a hassle. It would also mean I would miss the first part of ski season with a 6 month recovery.

So, I'm trying to decide whether to get it fixed in mid-July or wait another year until next May. My question is whether anyone has successfully skied park while ACL deficient, because that is what I would be looking at doing this next year if I waited.

Sparknotes: Trying to decide whether to get ACL fixed in mid-July or next May, and wondering whether skiing park without an ACL is doable.
 
I fully tore mine last june, as well as several small meniscal tears, & couldn't get it fixed until this summer. I skied really conservatively this past season with the breg fusion and did a fair amount of legs in the gym as well as skateboarding a lot. then in february my balls grew a bit too not-tiny and I landed backseat off a tall box and heard a pop. the surgeon said it was probably scar tissue separating from my PCL. I had similar swelling and pain to when I first tore my ACL but not quite as long-lasting. I finally just got it fixed this month, but imo it was a bad choice to ski park at any level without my ACL. even with the brace, I was still able to re-injure it. I'm not expert by any means, but I'd suggest keeping away from the park and skiing as conservatively as possible. resisting temptation is hard as shit though. invest in a nice camera and film your buddies or something.
 
Yeah, I actually skied two seasons ago for half the season without an ACL. Skied mostly park here on the east coast, pretty much rails only, no jumps. Honestly, it was not that great. It'd be fine for a little bit, but as soon as I messed up in the slightest (leaned back seat a bit too much, landed flat at all, etc.) it would blow up like crazy, become super swollen and painful, and I'd have to not ski for a week or two at a time. If I kept it really mellow it was alright, but essentially two or three days of park riding would mean a week off. To be honest, I'd probably just get it fixed and actually be able to ski well for a shorter season. I didn't get mine operated on until this past October due to some other reasons, so I didn't return to skiing until March, but it was well worth the wait...my ACL was super strong and skiing was wayyy more fun with one than without. At least that's my two cents.
 

I would get it fixed i think t would be best and it would be better for your mind and you will be more confident, and anytime there is a risk where you could land sideways spinning off a box and catch an edge it could go right out.
 
looks like we were able to reschedule for July 12....I forget what my timeframe was last time, will I still be limping on Aug 17?
 
Do it in July.

You won't be able to ski park to the level that you want, and every time it slips (and it WILL slip out) you are putting yourself at a huge risk of damaging more then just your ACL.
 
Skied without ACL a whole season. No troubles, didn't feel or miss it at all. Unfortunately tore my MCL during the next summer, which made a surgery necessary.

If you have strong muscles to rely on and if other similar movements like doing tramps or skating don't hurt, I would go for it.
 
i'll seem like more of a bitch if i get it fixed and i still can't do anything by october.....but it seems like it's pretty much decided now that i'm getting it fixed
 
this. sucks you'll miss the majority of the season, but id rather miss half of a season, than be out for a year with more knee injuries due to skiing on torn acl.
 
most people think of tearing your acl but this season i tore my mcl it hurt like a bitch and i had to be taken down by skipatroll and its benn like 3 months 2 of them with a leg brace and im finaly feeling like im starting to recover but i saw these new bindigs called iknee that should prevent acl tear idk if thats helpfull
 
I had surgery on my Acl about 3 weeks ago. I was walking in about a week, with a little pain but not to much and I am riding a stationary bike already at 3 weeks after surgery at a high intensity. Just make sure you get a good physio and do everything they say and you will be fine.
 
ur retarded if u do that. my bro tore his acl two years ago skiing park,he got the surgery and then over the summer he tore it again. he skipped last ski season. and he is still not going to ski park. his knee is weak. and the acl will never be as strong as it was. also, his best friend tore his acl the same ski season and he got it fixed. then the next season came around and he tore it trying a 450 off a rail. im positive that if u ski on ur acl in park, ur going to tear it again. im not trying to be a dick. im just telling u that ur not gonna have a good time. just work out alot after the surgery. get it rly strong and take it seriously. maby ull get some shreddin in.
 
I tore mine, in March 2010, skied the rest of the season until may, I was able to ski the entire mountain well, but as soon as my feet left the ground my knee would shift and it would be awful. So I got surgery in May 2010, rehabbed hard for 5 months and I have just finished my first season back and my knee feels just as good as before.

My mom is a physiotherapist and apparently some people who opt to not get surgery, strengthen their quads and hams to a point where the acl tear isn't noticeable, but this is very uncommon. I think you should get the surgery, rehab hard and come back strong as ever skiing at your best for a bit of the season rather then a mediocre skier for the whole season. Because more likely then not you will need the surgery anyways in one point in your life so you might as well get it done now.
 
had mine done with a hamstring graft on june 10th. Was weight baring straight out of surgery and I have a little bit of a limp now, but its not noticeable until my knee gets tired. You should be fine for regular walking by mid August and good to ski by february if you do your physio.
 
we had a sport teacher this year, she did her final uni dissertation on being able to perform in elite sport without an ACL

if you strengthen the muscles in your leg you can function just as well without an acl, i was skeptical at first but when it was explained it made sense

the build up of muscle can take a while though
 
Strengthen up your muscles alot and be really careful. Also-Semi thread jack- how do you like Univ. at boulder? Im on east coast so i have to decide if i want to make a costly college visit out there, is there anything you dont like about it?
 
i tore my mcl, stretched my acl and broke my knee cap and didnt don anything to fixed it other than rehab and strength training ect. i started skiing about 3 weeks after while it still hurt. it happend two years ago and i am still being bothered by it so id wait and get it healed up before you start again.
 
i retore it doing a kfed on a friend's summer setup, all i did was land flat. i was pretty sure when it happened, i felt this weird feeling, but then after it swelled up too
 
sorry for dub post, i mean i'm going on as a freshman, so all i've done are visits and orientation, but so far i like everything about it
 
I go here along with a sh*tload of other ski kids from this site Im sure but Ill be a Junior this year if you have any questions feel free to holla.
 
get it fixed bro. just got mine re-done 2 weeks ago. (Dr. Cooley=baller). i was doing a lot of skating and hiking and shit. but when it comes down to skiing it is such a pivital and high impact sport that your knee is bound to go out. happened to me all the time. my mom is a gymnastics coach and hasn't had an ACL for 20 years. she can still throw fulls(shes retarded). so it may be do-able. if you dont get it fixed i recomend building your quads and knee muscles up like the fuckin hulk. your muscles do most of the stableizing.
 
if u decide to not get it fixed, u must hit they gym like a hero to buildt up your strenght in your legs again. because if u are not strong enough when u crash, u risk to fuck more shit up.

surgery suck mad balls, and the recovery time feels way longer than it really is.

best off luck whatever u decide to do :)
 
there is a guy at my ski hill who could do jumps and stuff but not really anything big.but if you feel fine you should do what you fell comftorable with.
 
I tore mine and skied park for 3 months on a DonJoy. Had a fractures tibia and torn meniscus. the tibia made booters hard to land because it hurt so bad, stayed away from spinning out of rails.
 
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If this dude can do that^ with no acl, race a full world cup season and come 4th at DH world champs you should be able to shred park in some way.
 
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