Tore my ACL today :(



Can't stress number one enough.

About number two - doctors specialize in different grafts. It can be beneficial to find out what your options are for doctors, and what they like to do, so that you can choose one or the other and they won't pressure you into something.

I got a hamstring graft from my doctor who specializes in it, and although it was a hard recovery, my knee feels AWESOME. I would 100% suggest hamstring grafts because of it. I know other people who got hamstring from a non-sports, non-specialist in hamstring, and will tell you to definitely NOT get hamstring.
 
I got a hamstring as well, from an awesome sports doc. Remember you don't have to go to the first doc they send you to! If the seem like a weenee, go to another doc you can feel good about. I'm about 7 months out and feel pretty dang good, 90% or so I would say! Work out ASAP and as much as possible too, makes all the difference
 
Fuck man, sorry to hear that. Buddy of mine blew out his ACL his sophomore year, then again his junior year. Don't take that shit lightly, let it heal so you don't miss part of next season too.
 
this. i got a hamstring graft from a doctor that is known for his specialty in that kind of graft and my knee feels great. look for a doctor that is amazing at one type. not alright at them all.
 
Depending on how stable your knee is and how good your muscles are trained I would say you could defiantly rock the season without ACL. In fact I skied a whole season without it and only got surgery because I got a torn MCL the following summer as well... otherwise I would never have gotten that shit replaced.

Check a doc who at least considers this option because its getting more and more common that ACLs don't get replaced in any case, even for professional athletes.
 
this as well. i skied last year on my torn acl and it has made my recovery now much easier because my knee was so much stronger and used to not having the balance that an acl provides. if you get a good knee brace and your doc says you will be alright then go ahead an have a mellow season but at least you will be skiing. the risks, as your doc will explain can be pretty dramatic, i further tore my meniscus by skiing last year but i would say it was worth it because it will all got fixed in the end.

sorry for the self promotion but this is what i accomplished last year without an acl.

i hope that this give you some encouragement and shows you what possibilities you have.
 
That's awesome that you pulled it off. But if you had torn your PCL and MCL or ended up with a tibia fracture or some other super shitty injury on top of the vanishing ACL you probably wouldn't be thinking it was worth it. You would be sitting around hoping to ski at least a day or two this year and wishing you had gotten the surgery straight away. You are definitely putting your chips on the table when you ski park without an ACL.
 
yeah, with my knee brace it was pretty damn solid. im stoked it worked for me and it might not be for everyone but i think its worth a shot if you really really want to ski.
 
I hope this cheers you up man, E-DOLLO is giving you vibes.

Nah but that sucks, vibes to you bro rehab the shit out of that knee
 
i cant even imagine what u must feel right now sending vibes man wish u a quick recovery ull be back skiing soon enough
 
Damn, same thing happened to me 2nd run at A Bay last year. RIding for my first time in a year tomorrow. Best of luck man. Kill rehab! Get a DonJoy. It let me ski for 3 months before surgery. you can get em on ebay. normally 1800$ but i found one for 150$
 
fuck man! that sucks, i have been soo parinoied about fucking my knee lately, im gonna ride my dins at like 4 this year..... and im 5' 10" 115 lbs

vibesssssssss
 
so your season is order? I may have fucked up my knee and I'm thinking what could happen if iI skied with it. How long is recovery?
 
riding without an ACL can damage your meniscus (Which is worse than damaging an ACL) among other things. Your knee isn't as stable so you're more likely to hurt other ligaments.

Recovery is 6+ months after surgery. I skied at 4 and 5 months, but just slid around and took photos, and it was a bad idea. If there's any complications it can take longer.
 
man im sorry to hear you can get through this shit!!

edollo just posted in your thread. cant get much netter than that
 
Just to reaffirm some correct posts.

From my experiences I would consider this season a wash, cry it out, move on and:

1. Find Orthopedic Surgeon with a specialty in knees or sports medicine (US Ski Team Doc). There are lots of good ones in CO so you are lucky.

2. Find a Physical Therapist before you have surgery. PreHab as hard possible.

3. Surgery (hamstring or cadaver graft).

If I could do it again I would have a cadaver graft the first time but this is just my opinion after some research (would anyone would like to discuss this?). Surgery is only bad if your stomach can't handle pain meds well. Other than that it's no big deal.

4. Rehab like it's your job.

5. Rehab like it's your job.

6. Rehab like it's your job.

7. Have a fun summer, maybe hit up A-Basin if you are cleared, bike, swim...

8. Start next season strong!

In the meantime, you can/should:

-Get better grades in school

-read some books

-learn something new, like video editing, so you can make edits when you get back.

PM with other questions.

If you try to ski you will risk damaging your meniscus or other ligaments. And as others have said, damaging your meniscus is worse than your ACL.

 
Patellar graft is the gold standard. This is the graft professional athletes use and should be your choice if you are willing to put in the work to make it strong. By far the strongest donor ACL.

Hamstring graft or Cadaver graft are similar, but Cadavers tend to be for people willing to take the risk of a cadaver due to weak hamstrings. If you have beefy fucking hamstrings, and you've already donated a patella, than by all means take your hammy and create an ACL. No chance of rejection, but not as strong as a patella. If all else fails, take a cadaver, but understand damn well there is a small chance your body will reject it since it is a foreign body and you will get to experience hell for a few years. On the other hand if you win the lottery and your body accepts it, it will have by far the shortest recovery time. Still not half as strong as a patellar graft though.
 
Tanner Hall, all the Battersbys (like 5 surgeries combined), Witt Foster, Pep Fujas, and Tiger Woods (TWoods #2), Myself, and every other skier I know who has done it in Utah has had their surgery done by Vern Cooley, all did Hamstring.

Vern Cooley is the man and does the most legit hamstring ever. I have read a couple places, and Vern somewhat affirmed that patellar has more risk of arthritic symptoms later. He says that it's the same strength as Patella. I don't know if that's true but I don't think patella is any stronger, at least not by a lot. I would never do Cadaver - risking rejection isn't something I'm down with. plus that shit is gross IMO... haha.

The knee that I had surgery one legit feels stronger than my other knee now.

 
I have the hamstring graft, and you're definitely spewing some bullshit regarding patella being way stronger. If anything hamstrings have less complications later in life than patella graft.
 
I've got some words of wisdom for ya. I hit a tree last winter, 11 months ago, New Years Eve to be exact. I was at Breck, easily one of the coolest places to ski EVER! Ruined my whole Colorado trip. Anyways, I tore the PCL in my left knee, the MCL and PCL in my right knee AND broke my right femur! So, moral of the story is thinking that while your life may suck, mine sucked wayyyyy worse. I was in a wheel chair for three months. I had to learn how to walk all over again. I was done skiing for the rest of the year and there's not even a chance of me skiing this year! So again, your life may suck with that torn ACL, but believe me, you'll be back and probably skiing on it in a couple months. So, make sure to think about my story and think that yours isn't that bad compared to me.

And some advice. Since you clearly love skiing, keep a positive mind through the whole thing and stay DETERMINED! The moment you lose control of your mind is when the whole healing process goes downhill. If you stay positive, do everything the therapist tells you to do and work out every single day, it's going to make the reward that much sweeter, TRUST ME!

If you're interested, check out my pics in my profile. You'll see me chilling in a bed with two casts on my legs. It's proof that my life sucked worse than yours!

Keep your head up bro, you'll be fine! Stay motivated and persevere! Good luck!
 
squats and leg press. Stabilizing your leg by building muscle evenly and making your legs strong is about the only thing that will make a substantial difference. You can also make sure to eat healthy and have a well balanced diet, including vegetables and other foods with vitamins that promote joint, tendon and ligament health.

Unless there's something I'm missing, this is all I've been able to really find.

doing exercises that strengthen your hamstring and stretching before you ski are good ways to lower the chances of fucking yourself up. Part of the reason I blew mine was because I hadn't stretched and my whole body was super tight. Loosen up.
 
Patellar tendon graft was the gold standard. Hamstring grafts are becoming more the norm. With the patellar graft there is the problem with an increased chance of arthritis later on and the "phantom itch feeling".

With the increasing popularity of the "double bundle" technique, hamstring grafts can be made as strong as patellar tendon grafts. Similar to patellar grafts there is basically no chance of rejection if you are the donor. The drawback to hamstring grafts is that the hamstring never quite gets to 100% (from personal experience and talking with 3 friends who have had the procedure plus it just makes sense). My left hamstring is also more susceptible to cramps now compared my right hamstring.

Cadaver grafts are great as long as your body doesn't reject it. Happens in
 
Sorry to hear man. One of my friends is going in for surgery tomorrow. Good luck with your recovery.
 
just don't do squats too early. get movement back first then concentrate on balance and control. ie. train up the VMO (medial quads....the ones on the inside of your leg close to your patella) very gently to make sure your leg develops properly. the last thing you want is bias towards your lateral quads, which are much easier to train and respond more quickly to exercises like squats.

the same goes for the hamstrings. they protect the ACL. don't develop the quads without focusing on the hamstrings as well.

sparknotes: 1. balance, 2. control, 3. strength
 
"In 2004, Carmichael was injured for the Supercross season, he had a knee injury (torn ligaments/meniscus) but came back for the Motocross season to record his second perfect season; winning 24 of the 24 motos he raced and all 12 overalls on his Honda CRF450; his first effort on a 4-stroke bike."

The GOAT has laid the path for you.. Come back stronger, better, and more hungry than ever!!! YOU CAN DO IT!
 
Def not spewing bullshit, patella graft is the strongest graft you can have. However patella is the toughest to rehab and probably has the highest chance of arthritis later in life due to the damage to your tendon. On the other hand, the Patella regenerates itself, whereas that hamstring you borrow? It's gone. Forever. No regeneration. Only your doc will know which is right for you though, everybody is different.

Here is a breakdown specifying how NFL players recover:

http://www.whcenter.org/workfiles/cmeprograms/acl_recon_nfl.pdf

84% Patella

10% Cadaver

6% Hamstring (0% double bundle as there have been double bundle failures in the past and it isn't consider reliable yet)

84% to 6%, 'nuff said
 
it fricken sucked! but i want to ski this year so it's been on my mind ever since the accident and that's been my huge diver. plus, i wanted an inspirational story to tell future people like this kid so they wouldn't feel so bad.
 
that might be the stupidest thing i've ever heard.

I could barely stand up when I tore mine but I got surgery a week later and could ski 6 months later. Although I tore mine in April so I didn't miss out on much. That sucks dude.
 
Everything is going to work out +vibes for you man, i know what you're going through.

I have torn my ACL two times (left knee in december '10 and right knee Three weeks ago) and raptured my acl (left knee january '10. Im waiting for my surgery. One thing that everybody has said and you cant do enough of is excersice your knee, before and after the surgery. Especially after the surgery. Start bending and stretching your knee for about 5minutes every hour (minimum) from the first day after surgery and you're back on your feet in no time.

I had the patellar graft in the left knee and im going to have it my right too. Hurraaay!
 
Get surgery! I had the luxury of spraining mine 7 times before it tore. It only gets easier and easier for it to come out of place and each time it happens it is a couple days with a knee that is swollen as f**k. And each time it slips out, you risk meniscus damage (leads to arthritis, knee replacements). I know it sounds like a bad idea to write your season off, but you'll be a thousand times better off in the end.
 
+vibes dude.

Get surgery soon and go to physical therapy and you will be back before you know it.

In the meantime, chill with friends and try to relax. On the bright side, once you are able to ski again, you will be 10,000x as hyped to get back on skis.
 
Second jump at copper, spun a 540 but over rotated landing backseat and a bit sideways. My skiis stayed on and as I tried to pull my weight up my right edge caught and finally blew out along with my right ACL, getting an MRI on Wednesday.
 
My main downfall was having too much confidence in my ability early on in the season. I was landing 3's backseat and never had that issue before so I ignored it and went even bigger. I am fairly certain that if I had built up leg strength it would not have happened. My legs were already burning from just edging down the mountain.
 
Wrong, it's 6 months until you can go back to normal activity.

To OP, vibes man, I know what it's like, blew mine 2 years ago. You'll be back next year!
 
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