 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all
I fell in La Plagne last Christmas Eve and tore my right ACL/MCL and meniscus (got the full helicopter treatment - very exciting!).
Back in the UK I was braced for 12 weeks and then physio only (got a DVT in thr leg too, just to add some more excitement).. I am a self employed gardener and having a reconstruction wouls.have meant closing my business so i have persevered with only the physio (and at least 4 hours gardening every day once I was able to get back to work).
We own a small flat in Chamapgny en Vanoise and will.be back therr for New Year. So first time back on skis - am a bit apprehensive....
My leg feels good (possibly better than my uninjured one!). No wobbling or collapsing.
What would people with experience in this kind of thing recommend for a first foray back on the slopes? Shorter skies? Looser fitting?
Am only.planning going out when weather/snow conditions are good and taking it very easy to get confidence back.
Would welcome any advice
Many thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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It's possible that the biggest impediment will be "between the ears". What I mean, is there will be a very natural and understandable concern, which could lead to a nervous, timid approach and a lack of proper commitment to the turn.....So, my suggestion would be to get a lesson in order to give you confidence and ease you back. Your biggest chance of re-injury is probably in the first day or two....or later on due to over confidence (which is less likely, if careful).
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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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As you say that it all feels good, and assuming you're including strength in that, I really don't think you should worry. Just ski normally. I've known people who reduce their DIN settings post injury, but have always been worried that this is more likely to lead to more accidents due to pre-release. (Of course you should check the settings and get them tested if there's any possibility that they failed to release and caused the injury).
As @Old Fartbag says, it can often be the case that people try to ski cautiously, protecting the knee, and that nearly always ends badly. as it means they're not fully committing yourself, often on one side only, and their skiing goes to pot. If you meed confidence building then a lesson might help, I suppose, but more importantly, from my own experience, raising your technical skiing game should make falls much less likely in the future, so although you don't mention your existing level, it may be something to think about in the long term.
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@Joyceycat, I know exactly where you are at. Bust my ACL falling off a climbing wall April 22, rehabbed all year, went skiing early March 23. I wondered about braces, reducing DIN numbers, skiing conservatively, etc. In the end I bought a hinged brace, left the DIN as normal, thought about it day 1, and then just got on with it and largely forgot about it. It certainly didn't affect my skiing.
As @Old Fartbag said, the problem was in my head, and if you ski defensively, you are more likely to get it wrong that if you ski normally (what ever normal is for any one of us individually!)
My one advantage was that I do teach on a dry slope as my job, so I had been on my skis a lot over the Winter, but teaching people how to do snowplough turns on a 50m slope is a million miles away from what I'm doing on snow. The first time I actually put my skis on after the accident, which was September 22, I was VERY apprehensive!
So my advice would be, get a brace, mostly for the peace of mind it will give you, and just get on with it, especially f you've done all your physio and it's not giving you any grief.
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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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@Joyceycat, Yes as another been there seen it etc defo go with the brace, it takes a lot of the angst away, but try not to become too dependent on it, like my daughter who still insists on skiing with hers some ten years after she did hers!
Last year at the GB ski industry ski-test I came across the Head Tyrolia Knee Protector binding and was most impressed with it, one friend, again who is extremely anxious about returning to the slopes bought skis with these bindings for peace of mind.
I've also tested the excellent Stoko knee brace tights*, in fact was using them again as a referral to the Imbrace knee support compression tights which I'm currently testing across a varied range of ski disciplines, and currently, I am having knee issues which are a result of skiing so much wind affected snow and all that entails.
*currently unavailable in Europe but I will check in with them to see if anything has changed on the front.
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Thanks all for the advice - am on the road to Champagny now. Have brought my brace and planning to ski in Courchevel as I know it well, had plenty of easy blues to get going on (someone I know with the same injury at the same time also skied there lately and recommended it).
Fingers crossed for good conditions !
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@Joyceycat, Upto 50% of people can "cope" without a reconstruction. There is a pattern of injury seen quite frequently in skiers that i definitely manage non operatively or just repair. You may wish to invest in a brace. If you do dont buy a mid range one, either go cheap or expensive. Good luck! Jonathan Bell
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Agree with Old Fartbag... between the ears was my biggest issue but a knee brace and my first turns post PT told me I was going to be OK.
Ruptured my ACL in 2018... no ACL, torn MCL, meniscus tear, slight fracture. No surgery. Only PT. Went to Saas-Fee the following season and I realized I would be fine. I still think about it a little bit but really, not much at all. Case in point... I push myself just as hard if not harder now. Returned from Taos, New Mexico this past weekend (some say that Taos is a four-letter word for steep) and it was amazing even though snow conditions could have been better.
Do realize that that you will have to train year-round for muscle structure and endurance. The upside is that your legs will be more prepared than they were pre-injury. I also still wear a brace but I probably don't need it. In fact, last year I was about 2 hours into skiing at Montgenevre when I realized I had forgotten to put on my brace. 
On your question... I did not change what I skied. I was renting a pair of Black Crows Orbs when I was injured on day six of a ski trip. I liked them so much that after rehab I bought the same pair. Ski them today. Just ease in to get your confidence back.
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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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I have little ACL in left knee after both motocycle and skiing incidents in my 20s.
No reconstruction. Instability occasionally, manifesting as sharp pain and momentary ack of control. Now 66 and skiing around 7-8 weeks per year, mountain biking a lot. For years, my knee has adapted with new bone growth so that it really is entirely different in shape from the right knee. My right thigh is about 10mm larger in circumference to my left - I assume from preferntial use. My lower right leg can fully articulate but my backwards articulation on the left has a 20 deg restriction, assumed due to bone growth in the knee joint. The bone structure in my left knee is substantially larger now than my right, and with much more defined muscle structure over and around the knee.
Now the important bit.
2000s to 2020, every day skiing resulted in substantial inflammation in the right knee - and I mean substantial. This was exacerbated by soft snow or chop conditions. BUT a major coaching focus on prevention of hip dump, getting the boot of the lower ski well behind my hip, and really increasing forward pressure has really stopped all that. Which is quite a welcome surprise. So...it is no only about skiiing confidently, but also skiing really well. Getting some coaching to get balance and forward pressure established is, I think, really important.
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@valais2, my work colleagues husband had ruptured his ACL bit didn't know it. He had been suffering with his knee for quite some time when I ruptured mine. Turns out that my consultant was an old school friend of his that they had lost touch with each other. So he got in touch and used him as well. He had lost a lot of muscle mass despite lots of training with the leg. My consultant said that the loss of muscle mass was a common side effect of not having the ACL, so may not be down to you favouring it. I never managed to rebuild the muscle bulk after my recon before damaging my other knee which caused me to lose muscle mass that side so I now look pretty even
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@NickyJ, thanks indeed for this - very interesting and helpful.
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