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Back to skiing after ACL surgery

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bradcoffey
Posts: 582 - Karma: 31
I was talking with my physical therpist today about skiing. So i started asking him about what he thought i'd be able to do. he thought i should take it easy for most of the season and kinda stay away from the park. He said he doesnt know much about the park and that whole deal. he said to check online and i thought duhh newschoolers.
I had surgery april 2 (my birthday!!) its been just over 4 months now.

I dont really know how soon i should start pushing myself and trying new tricks. should i jump right in and pick up from where i left off or would it be to risky.
Anyone who has torn their acl tell me how it was like when you got back to park?
Aug 7 2008 7:47PM
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jca
Posts: 4162 - Karma: 6,261
if you do lots of rehab and all of your physio then you could probably start easing into skiing some park in january and depending on how strong your knee is you could be jumping by february/march
Aug 7 2008 7:51PM
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bradcoffey
Posts: 582 - Karma: 31
yeah ive been having pt 3 times a week, but no where near the same amount of muscle as in my other leg.
Think i could slide box's and down rails around november or do i still run a risk if i were to fall
Aug 7 2008 8:08PM
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Reed.
Posts: 4489 - Karma: 272
I would wait a minimum of 6-8 months before hitting any jumps and doing any sort of spinning on/off rails. Ive had 3 acl blow outs, so... yeah, im not exactly the best guy to ask about safely getting back into park.
Aug 7 2008 8:58PM
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bradcoffey
Posts: 582 - Karma: 31
i cant imagine having to go through surgery 3 times
Aug 7 2008 9:14PM
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vzdz
Posts: 782 - Karma: 87
you'll be fine come mid winter... just keep active and get your legs strong to protect that knee
Aug 7 2008 9:22PM
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eheath
Posts: 61091 - Karma: 118,105
I was hitting rails and jumps at 5ish months after with a knee brace (surgery in early july rails/jumps in december).
Aug 7 2008 9:25PM
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*DwC*
Posts: 1112 - Karma: 28
have gone though it twice now.... and i was in the same position as you last year got surgery April 4 last year... i started to spin again about half way through the year...so if i was you i would take it easy for at least most of the season.....

Aug 7 2008 9:27PM
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ct
Posts: 2076 - Karma: 99
had ACL and meniscus surgery 4/25
has anyone used the CTi knee brace? does it help at all?
http://www.ossur.com/cti
Aug 7 2008 9:31PM
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kristie
Posts: 1667 - Karma: 214
It depends a lot on what kind of surgery you had and how seriously you take your physical therapy. Patellar tendons take way longer to heal than hamstring grafts and cadavers.  I had a quadruple stranded hamstring graft last May 20 and was hitting boxes in October (but it hurt really bad because the scar tissue had to be broken up).  I started  dropping cliffs into powder and hitting little park jumps (like 10-20 footers) in November with no problems. I didn't really hit any big park jumps again until January or February.  You've just got to work your way back into things, don't click in for the first time and then go case a 65 foot step down.  

Someone invite this guy to the ACL Survivors cult. 
Aug 7 2008 9:33PM
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bradcoffey
Posts: 582 - Karma: 31
i got fitted for the same exact brace a few weeks ago. i cant tell you too much cause i havent started any sports up but i have worn it swimming. i was told that it helps to stop your shin from moving forward? something like that haha i foget what the doctor said. oh but my doctor said it helps alot
Aug 7 2008 9:43PM
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reBlocke
Posts: 762 - Karma: 1,502
I had surgery June 1st last year.  First day on snow was end of October and I was going 100 percent in the park in the middle of January.  I can't imagine it going much faster than that for you, as I did about everything I could possibly do (I had also had two tears in my meniscus so I had to be on crutches for 6 weeks, but I"m told that that doesn't slow rehab down much after 3 months or so).

I did 3 sessions per week until my insurance stopped paying for it, which was the end of September if I recall.  Then I got a trainer and did that twice a week until the middle of January.

It's pretty tempting to stop working hard after 4 months or so (which is when you can jog and stuff), because it'll start to feel normal again.  But I'd suggest doing rehab work until you're skiing 100 percent,  it's definitely worth the money.  I think my knee was probably about as strong as it was beforehand (although I still wear a brace), and my body as a whole was way stronger from 6 months of lifting weights.









Aug 7 2008 10:20PM
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_dy-lan_
Posts: 206 - Karma: 9
this past winter was my first time skiing since surgery in may. i started skiing by the middle of november just on groomers, taking it very easy. i started hitting rails and boxes by the end of january. i didn't jump the whole year just because i did not want to risk re-injury and my leg just didn't feel ready for it yet. my advice is just take it slow and don't do anything you don't feel confident about. i couldn't imagine going through the whole ordeal again.
Aug 7 2008 10:32PM
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KarmaSkiier
Posts: 461 - Karma: 6
exact same thing happened to me. do yourself a favor get a knee brace. not an ace wrap i mean a real knee brace with hinges and metal and shit. i have one and its saved my knee soo many times skiing. im telling you dude get one youll feel much more comfortable skiing and it wont limit your ability
Aug 7 2008 10:39PM
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C-Burg
Posts: 4729 - Karma: 130
i had surgery on may 12th and my doc said that i should start easing into skiing durning november and december, then depending on my strength start easing into harder things come january. But i cant really speak for you because everyone is different. I had a patellor tendon graft from my left knee and reconstruction on my right so i have been working strength on my left leg and motion on my right for about a month and a half and my knees are feeling really good and i am alot further ahead than some of my friends who had different types of surgery done
Aug 7 2008 10:50PM
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SkiPat
Posts: 170 - Karma: 14
how much does such a knee brace cost?
Aug 8 2008 3:41AM
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3mania
Posts: 2559 - Karma: 9,852
There is a fine line between rehabing hard to get back and over working your knee to a point were your going to slow down your come back. Tendonitis is easy to get in your patella tendon if they took the graft outta there. Take your time i've seen people do more harm than good trying to get back too soon. make sure your working your quad/ hamstings, and calves equally, and do a lot of balance and stretching. 
Aug 8 2008 3:53AM
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C-Burg
Posts: 4729 - Karma: 130

i had patellor graft and none of my doctors had tpld me about tendonitis and i pretty sure they would have told me

Aug 8 2008 8:14AM
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skifiend
Posts: 2063 - Karma: 13
I'm 3 months post op right now, and I've blown my ACL in the same knee twice in the last 8 years.  Take it easy for sure.  Not to say you can't ski, but maybe you be the photog for your crew for the first few months till you get your legs under you.  The first time back on snow after surgery is always a challenge, mostly mental, but still doesn't feel 100%, at least for me.
Aug 8 2008 9:18AM
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powderhound100
Posts: 2510 - Karma: 144
well my mom broke her acl and she got this really fancy customized brace that she wore. it was called something joy lol. wear a brace if your doing spins and stuff, that way you can't twist it.
Aug 8 2008 10:38AM
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C-Burg
Posts: 4729 - Karma: 130
you dont tear your acl by twist it. also if your surgery was done right and rehab was done right you dont need a brace
Aug 8 2008 12:17PM
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KarmaSkiier
Posts: 461 - Karma: 6
its called a donjoy lol i got one myself
Aug 8 2008 6:20PM
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ct
Posts: 2076 - Karma: 99
i've heard if you can get a doctor's referral for it, your insurance most likely will pay for it
maybe the guy above who said he has one can answer this question
Aug 8 2008 8:13PM
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agame4life
Posts: 185 - Karma: 30
yeah it does wonders! I completely tore my acl, tore my mcl, and my meniscus back on my first day out of the season. I came back a month later and skied without an acl  and meniscus tear for the rest of the season. The cti brace helped so fricken much, but it still hurt like hell to wipe out cuz of the menicus. I just had my surgery about 5 weeks ago and i'm looking forward to having a great season this year. I'm still gonna wear my cti brace, but I'm considering getting another one for my other knee. 
Aug 11 2008 1:36AM
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SkiPat
Posts: 170 - Karma: 14
dudeee are you serious?? If so, believe me you are destroying yourself completely. Every landing you do you harm your meniscus and your  cartilage so bad. I also conidered doing it like you but went for surgery cuz my doctor said if I would do that what you do, I would be done skiin in 2 or 3 years and would have a freakn fucked up knee for the rest of my whole life, and thats not worth it.
Aug 11 2008 10:41AM
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C-Burg
Posts: 4729 - Karma: 130
if you get surgery and do your rehab right you souldnt need a brace
Aug 11 2008 10:59AM
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skifiend
Posts: 2063 - Karma: 13
I'm going to have to call bullshit on your first statement.  Both times I blew my ACL, it was from twisting my knee.
Aug 11 2008 11:45AM
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agame4life
Posts: 185 - Karma: 30
Yeah well i had to wait to do my surgery cuz I wasn't done growing. They had to wait until my growth plates were closed to do my surgery otherwise one of my legs would have ended up longer than the other. so thats why i had to ski with the brace my whole season. and it did help a lot. I know about the meniscus thing. I actually further tore it, but i really love skiing so i can't complain. And now I'm about 5 in a half weeks out from surgery and my knee feels way better than it ever has.
Aug 11 2008 12:40PM
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rossignol_rider
Posts: 1956 - Karma: 13
i had a hamstring graft with my acl, and had my mcl removed in june of 2 years ago. i did all the pt til august, and then moderately rode a bike, swam, ran, and played soccer til novemberi-ish. after al lthe debt my family went into after my surgery, out of respect, i took that season off, continued running, and doing sports the next summer, and then returned last winter. depending on your age/how much you wonna do with the sport, if you can take that full year to recover, your knee will be much less trouble when youre older. it KILLED me taking that season off, but i still worked at the mountain, went to all the contests, filmed urban, and newschoolers never left my homepage. ive read about pros taking like 3 months off for a recovery, so its really case by case. take everyone's stories and figure out whats best for you. every situation's unique mang
Aug 11 2008 1:15PM
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SkiPat
Posts: 170 - Karma: 14
oh thats sick. I just thought you would like to continue skiin without an acl your whole life. That would be really bad for your health and your knee, and you wouldnt be stoked on skiin in a few yours because of a "grampa" knee at the age of 20
Aug 11 2008 1:15PM
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schlopy
Posts: 818 - Karma: 7,015
i got a cadvar and had surgery around feb 12th and ive been rollerblading around the bowls and stuff hitting small handrails, no pain at all except a bit of restrictions due to scar tissue so im thinking depending on your rehab and confidence you should be good around end of january-february with a brace of course... dont risk it. but id say over half of it is mental so maybe see a sports psychologist to regain some confidence... good luck man!
Aug 11 2008 1:45PM
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GhostfaceKillah
Posts: 3398 - Karma: 10
work out hard until then, wear a brace and give'r

it'll get sore but the pain will be worth it

the sooner you get back to it the faster you will be back to 100% (after of course you are cleared by your surgeon)
Aug 11 2008 2:31PM
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agame4life
Posts: 185 - Karma: 30
haha yeah for sure. I'm glad i got the surgery now so I'll be ready to go for ski season.
Aug 11 2008 10:55PM
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heman
Posts: 270 - Karma: 10
I had acl- meniscus surgery this past march and my knee feels pretty darn good considering what it has been through. My therapist told me to start with the brace and when I felt comfortable I could slowly stop using it say around january. Seems to me the brace helps but also slows the rehab process since you are not using the muscles-tendons to support your knee. So rehab hard and hopefuly the brace may not be needed.
Nov 8 2008 5:09PM
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