 Poster: A snowHead
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@Grizwald, Thank you. I'm pretty sure he didn't mention any need for surgery when I saw him, and I did say that I wouldn't be going home until end of April. I'll back and ask him
@miranda, Thank you too. My understanding of the Carte Neige is different and a friend had issues do to not being covered for the op in hospital as the Carte Neige only pays as far as the first stop. I will check that out tomorrow though. Equally - if its not an overnight stay, hopefully it wouldn't be scarily expensive if the EHIC picks up 70%. Although obviously my preference would be for the insurance to cover it all. I'll find out more tomorrow 
Than again to everyone for the comments and information xx
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@chaletgirl, you have to pay first and claim back. You have to claim what you can from EHIC (having paid) and then the Carte Neige covers the rest up to €3600.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@chaletgirl, Wait on the MRI but if you've ruptured rather than tore your ACL you'll require a operation to reconstruct the ligament using either a graft from you or a donor.
All just speculation until you've had a through diagnosis.
I'll report back after my op on Thursday! 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Another recruit here
I tore my meniscus (at Hemel of all places! - very embarrassing!) in October 2014 and had the repair in November 2014. So I missed last season entirely. At that time the consultant said I had a loose ACL but nothing serious. I fell backwards off some step ladders 4 weeks ago, onto a straight left (the same) leg, and it hurt like hell initially, but soon thereafter it appeared fine, but every time I twisted it accidentally, or jarred it, it just collapsed. My GP seemed to think physio would work, but I knew it wouldn't so I saw the knee specialist last night. He looked at the MRI from the initial meniscus tear, and said the ACL was "mush" then! And he thought from manipulation, that my ACL was no more. So a mis-diagnosis apparently? Anyway - MRI is in an hour, and then a follow up with the consultant on Thursday. If it is a rupture, I'm dreading the rehab, and yet another missed season 2016/7. Since I bought my place in Morzine 3 out of 4 seasons are a write-off (for me anyway - the kids love it!). Grrr.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@noggy, Sorry to hear that, get yourself sorted and you could be back in time for next season.
I go under the knife tomorrow so will report back.
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@noggy,  what a sorry tale. Good luck everybody!
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| noggy wrote: |
Another recruit here
I tore my meniscus (at Hemel of all places! - very embarrassing!) in October 2014 and had the repair in November 2014. So I missed last season entirely. At that time the consultant said I had a loose ACL but nothing serious. I fell backwards off some step ladders 4 weeks ago, onto a straight left (the same) leg, and it hurt like hell initially, but soon thereafter it appeared fine, but every time I twisted it accidentally, or jarred it, it just collapsed. My GP seemed to think physio would work, but I knew it wouldn't so I saw the knee specialist last night. He looked at the MRI from the initial meniscus tear, and said the ACL was "mush" then! And he thought from manipulation, that my ACL was no more. So a mis-diagnosis apparently? Anyway - MRI is in an hour, and then a follow up with the consultant on Thursday. If it is a rupture, I'm dreading the rehab, and yet another missed season 2016/7. Since I bought my place in Morzine 3 out of 4 seasons are a write-off (for me anyway - the kids love it!). Grrr. |
A couple of thoughts:
It is possible to partially injure the ACL and then re-tear it leading to instability after the second but not the first event. The classic mechanism of injury to give a partial tear that can heal relatively well is a hyperextension injury. I don't think this is widely recognised.
The best way to diagnose an ACL rupture ( short of arthroscopy) is to examine the knee, and for the examiner to experienced in examining knees alot.
The best way to cause confusion, misdiagnose the ACL and get it wrong is to rely on the scan to both diagnose the ACL rupture and assess the severity. MRI scan is unreliable in assessing the severity of injury to the ACL.
If you get reconstruction done by May i would be looking to try and get you on snow ( at Hemel) in late November, but you'll need to work hard if it is that late.
Jonathan Bell
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Thanks Jonathan.
Hope all went well with @Grizwald,
Interesting one. Saw consultant tonight. He says my meniscus is very torn, so needs repairing. My ACL seems to have partially detached, but has reattached itself to the Posterior Cruciate Ligament, which affords a modicum of stability. Sounds very strange to me. Anyway, meniscus repair on Wednesday, and he will have a look at the ACL when he's in there. Not sure whether that's positive or negative news really.
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Hi all,
after being operated on in the later half of this morning I'm now home.
Went well, the surgeon was able to also assess the repair had healed and taken. And I have a 8.5mm piece of tendon moonlighting as a ligament. Pain is fine, but I'll still be feeling the anaesthesia. It's actually all far more comfortable than when I had the cartilage repaired in the previous op. The nurse said that most people would stay in over night, but I'd much rather be in the comfort of my own home.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Was wondering how you were doing, Grizwald - glad to hear it went well.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@Grizwald, 
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You know it makes sense.
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@legalista, @Hurtle, Cheers guys.
Almost 48 hours on now I can get up and down for the loo but have otherwise taken it easy. I'll de-bandage possibly later today or tomorrow and start with the cryo cuff. It feels very uncomfortable to put full weight on it so I've taken the one crutch approach to go to the bathroom and back. Most of the pain is probably coming from the hamstring, which has has a couple of spasms. I've done some limited physio exercises which I'm wary of not doing enough as my leg is pretty weak after not having much use of it for the past 6 months.
It's either not as bad as I was expecting or my threshold for pain has increased. So far the original injury ranks as the most painful, then the meniscus repair and the ACL reconstruction I've just had.
So far so good.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@chaletgirl, Have you tried leading with your bad leg, coming downstairs? I found 'good leg up, bad leg down' very useful when I tore my ACL & post op.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@genepi, Its bending my left knee with weight on it that is the issue, so yes, I do lead with the bad knee going downstairs (no choice really with the brace on it as it can't bend!) but this means my left knee is bent with my full weight on it until the braced leg 'touches down'!! Same but opposite going upstairs, the left knee has to bend with my weight on it until the braced knee gets to that step.
The downside at the moment is that my right knee was always my good knee so the left knee is not used to doing this work!!
Such is life!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@chaletgirl, Have you seen the Aldi advert for their brand of tea - showing an elderly woman going down the stairs on a tray? Its one of the funniest adverts at the moment - Just a thought
Sense of humour always helps with every challenge -
Just realised you probably won't have seen it in France - but the thought was there anyway
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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chalet girl and grizwald - how's it going?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@legalista,
Hi it's not too bad thanks. I removed the outer bandages yesterday they're just there for a little extra cushioning I suppose and catch any seepage! This revealed the waterproof dressings (just look like large plasters) and I have an extra wound it seems quite high up on my right thigh that I wasn't expecting?! I'll leave these on for 10 days and then take a look underneath.
Taking the bandages off has allowed me to start getting the cryo cuff on which helps most of the swelling seems to be higher up above the knee. Starting today I'm hobbling around without any crutches in the house (previously I was just using one) and started doing some exercises. I'm determined to get and keep at it ASAP as previously explained through the original injury and meniscus repair my leg is really weak so 'pre-hab' was more limited than I'd have liked.
Just taking ibuprofen now to help with the swelling. I'm a big bloke but the cocktail I was taking was flooring me! 
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Good luck @Grizwald. Couch potato, don't try to beat the odds. Moving around is only progress if the swelling has gone, otherwise you are slowly the recovery. I had a couple of sharp stabs of pain in the hamstring in the first couple of weeks when standing. I was not ready for them. It's nothing, just a bit of a shock as the hamstrings wake up to find that a good chunk is missing!
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Grizwald - how useful are you finding the cryo cuff? Being mean, I have just bought a thing with a gel pad that you can freeze which I quite like but it seems to lose its power pretty quickly and I 'd be interested to hear if the c-c is better. I'm glad things are going ok but note 22 dropout's point, too!
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@legalista, Make friends with bags of frozen peas - cheap and effective
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@22 dropout, Thanks, my surgeon said to weight bare when I could I guess there's a compromise between giving it time and not loosing too much muscle. I'm trying to keep it straight where possible when lying down.
@legalista, They're very good, I'll have had my monies worth out of mine as I've had to separate operations. Frozen peas are fine, the biggest advantage to the cuff is you're getting compression in addition to icing it-helps with the swelling more than Vs just ice. The cooler keeps the water icy cold all day. I can fill it up late morning and there is still ice visible by night time. Unless you alternate bags of peas it's more convenient-you don't have to get up to re-charge the 'coldness' if no one is around to help.
It's helped a lot with pain management too in my case as said above I've ditched the paracetamol, codeine, and tramadol.
I would expect if you keep it clean-there's not a lot you can do to it other than puncture it I'd expect it to be worth 50-75% plus to sell on Ebay etc.
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Well unfortunately I have now also joined this burgeoning club!
I was GS gates training in Kuhtai yesterday and got a bit late on a left turn over a roll and took some air and tried too hard to correct onto the next right turn and landed with my full weight on the back of my left ski inside edge with the binding not releasing and felt the knee pop straight away and assumed I had done my ACL.
Happened at 11:30am and I had an MRI in Hochrum Clinic in Innsbruck at 3:00pm which confirmed the ACL rupture and I was operated on at 5:30pm and came to at around 7:30pm so pretty swift.
Hopefully going home tomorrow and start my rehab process in earnest as I have a lot of skiing to do next season!
Hope that the rest of you recover and rehab well from your injuries and I will be sure to update how things go on here.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Touchguru, Heal well and quickly. x
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@Touchguru, WOW! that was pretty amazing speedy op - must be some sort of record? maximum rehab period for next season
Best of luck
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@barney2, not really for Austria if you have reasonable fitness. I was operated on less than 12 hours after I walked into the hospital in St Johann in Tirol a few years back and when I did my other leg in 2006 they were going to operate the same day but as it was a work-related injury, I had to return to Germany to make sure my industrial injury insurance covered everything.
Hochrum and Kettenbrücke are probably the best clinics in Austria - Hochrum was where Anna Fenninger's catastrophic knee injuries were treated and also where Aksel Lund Svindal had his ACL repaired after the Kitzbühel accident
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You know it makes sense.
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Thanks @Hurtle, and @barney2,
I was taken to the same clinic and with the same surgeon who Svindal and Fenninger had their knees done with. Trying to give it as good a chance as possible to get back ASAP
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Cross information post @Samerberg Sue,
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Touchguru, Good luck with it, if I remember correctly you're an instructor-did you get your ISTD yet?
Getting straight in is fantastic, In reality I'd have been out for the season regardless so it's not a huge concern that it's taken me 6 months. Over in the UK I believe the approach is different in that it's common practise to wait a minimum of 6 weeks before operating.
At least you've had a good chunk of the season, a mate of mine back when I was instructing in Kitzbuhel did his first week out! 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Touchguru, Thats bad news. Hope the healing and recovery is quick. Good luck
@Grizwald, Sounds like you are healing quite well - look after it
On the cryo cuff, given that my injury was ten days ago, would it still be worth getting one to use. My knee is a bit puffy and I"m still using the leg brace when out walking (I am also pretty accident prone, so I guess it could be used again!)
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Thanks @chaletgirl, likewise!
Thanks @Grizwald - Not got the ISTD yet, as have had some other ski racing stuff come up this season which I have been busy with.
I was actually training for this Friday's St Christoph Eurotest, which I missed by 0.25 seconds last year, when it happened!
I hope your recovery goes well and speedily too.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Grizwald wrote: |
I said to my wife when I originally suffered my injury, all those years skiing and it finally goes playing rugby..... I wish it had happened skiing in a way as my insurance would have been better! |
Haha!! I said almost the EXACT opposite!! All those years on a rugby and touch rugby field...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Grizwald wrote: |
@chaletgirl, Thanks-on the Cryo cuff it depends how tight you are really . Before I got mine (all be it a pretty traumatic injury with multiple things going pop/snap) the swelling was there weeks on. Compression is a vital part of reducing swelling which you get from the cuff so a double whammy.
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Thank you - mine isn't that swollen and I have a good range of movement. Can't quite straighten it completely and it hurts to bend it completely (wakes you up bloody fast when you go to curl up in bed and bend your legs while not really awake and find that it REALLY hurts to do that!).
I start physio as soon as I can get an appointment but I've been told not to cycle just yet which is really annoying as I was looking forward to that. Still have to wear the leg brace when I'm walking outside the apartment but hopefully I can get rid of that in a couple of weeks
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I had my procedure this morning to trim my meniscus in the left knee and the appraise the condition of the ACL. The good news was that the old repair still looked good, and the new trim seemed successful. But two bits of bad news. Firstly, as suspected the ACL is completely ruptured. It has connected in some way to the PCL, but is very loose and offers little support. So naturally a reconstruction might be the obvious step. But the consultant noted that my knee was very worn, almost bone at the front and the patella, so maybe an ACL reconstruction would be a bit pointless if I needed a new knee in the near future. (I'm 60) He wouldn't comment on how long the knee will last. Actually that knee isn't really painful on a day to day basis. I was rather hoping he would offer some thoughts on the best course of action, but he wouldn't. He wants me to see him in 6 weeks with my conclusion. Without an operation my golfing days are behind me, but maybe I could ski although I'd be extremely nervous of falling. The consultant skis a lot, himself. Interestingly he said that all din calculated settings are far too high. I ski on 5.5, he says he (and I) should be on no more than 3.5.
Thoughts, advice. Please!
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Hey everyone,
13months post op now and (aside from last month where i was knocked off my bike) its been generally ok.
however, my knee is still regularly swollen even after so long. Its nothing major (i dont think) but it is noticeable that it is swollen and puffy. This occurs more so once i either do some sports for example cycling to work or playing football once a week.
Any advice? should my knee still be swelling up after 13 months?
thanks everyone!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@Touchguru, Generally I just do things that aren't considered particulary good for your health sometimes, ski, rugby, motorbikes. The first two I've done for well over 20 years with not so much as a niggle so I console myself with the fact that it's not a bad return!
@noggy, I would follow a medical professionals advice if they think you can ski then ski and take the proper precautions. IMHO DIN settings really come down an individuals appetite for a false or normal release Vs chance of injury or not popping a ski when you really don't want it to-which really for most is the more extreme end of off piste skiing, no falls zones and the like!
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@Grizwald, the problem is that he is refusing to give any advice. A surgeon friend suggests I seek a second opinion, and try and get an opinion!
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FAQ
to push on for the eurotest. Hopefully come back to it in the future.
