Thread: Fell skiing today and injured my right knee.

I was out skiing today through some crud and caught a ski in some really bad stuff, as I caught it, the rest of my body went away and then around my other leg, the twisting was at the knee, the ski popped off in the snow, but i felt a popping feeling in my knee, and the pain was extremely intense, couldn't get up and walk for a few minutes, even then I was having difficulty. I managed to ski down to my car, but after that, I quit skiing and left.

Now that I'm back home, my knee is very sore, it's difficult to bend my knee. I'm icing it, and I have a brace on it, however I'm worried I may have torn the ACL. I'm not exactly sure what to do, I'll have to probably go to an orthopedic, but at the moment I cannot afford to pay for anything involving an MRI or surgery, as I'm still paying off a recent surgery to a torn TFCC in my wrist.

Does anyone have any suggestions, how long I can wait (a couple months perhaps) if it is torn, and how to take care of this so that it can still be operated on and such?


Thank you everyone for your help!
Tyler

Sorry to tell you, and it's practically impossible to derive an injury over the internet...but that sounds almost EXACTLY like the time I ruptured my ACL ski racing years ago.

Twisting-type fall...lateral twisting of my right knee. ACL tear....check.

Popping sound from the knee while having twisting force on knee...Double Check.

Difficult to bend knee....Triple check.

I am assuming you also have plenty of swelling around the knee. Do you?

It's so close to my own symptons I had during my own ACL rupture that I'd be willing to bet a torn ACL.

Thererfore: I'd at least take a first visit to a decent sports medicine doctor. Tell him/her you'd like to do a valgus force test AND a Lachman test to derive if any laxity and what grade tear.

In the meantime until you see the doctor, continue with "RICE"....and take plenty of Ibuprofin to relieve inflamation.

If it is merely a grade I ACL tear with no or minimal laxity, you can sometimes do a non-surgerical rehab with good results...but remember, the fact that you heard a loud audible "pop" and can't really bend knee probably means grade III...at least grade II.

There's really no way you can get around at least a first initial visit with a doc, as you will want to know what you're dealing with.

Sometimes it is actually BEST if you wait a few days for the swelling to go down...that way the doctor can do a proper Lachman test. Just make sure you don't put too much weight on it before you the doctor...I'd recommend crutches for when you DO need to move.

Good luck.

Yeah, my knee is extremely swollen today, bendability is to the point where I decided to grab crutches to avoid discomfort. I'll be seeing a doctor tomorrow about it for certain, just have to wait for them to open office. In the mean time I've been icing it and keeping it elevated with as little use as possible.
'

Also, the popping was more felt than heard, I couldn't physically hear it, but I definitely felt a popping inside the joint.

Your story is identical to what happened to me a little over 6 weeks ago. Like you I felt the pop more than heard it. I skied down and knew my knee was fucked. Getting the boots off and walking to the car was a struggle and a half. It turned out to be a complete ACL tear with a very minor fracture. This is my first knee injury. I'm 40 years old and have been skiing 50+ days a year for the past 5 years.

I had surgery (allograph) 3 weeks after the injury. They wanted the fracture to heal a bit before they operated. It's been just over 3 weeks since the surgery and I just ditched the crutch yesterday. I've had 4 PT sessions and things seem to be going well. I make a point to keep a very good attitude but, in my private moments, I regret what a suckfest this has been.

It's nice to read some ski forums for info and success stories. One thing you'll notice is symptoms and progess vary greatly person to person so it's difficult to get a sense of certainty about how things will go. Good luck with the doc today. Feel free to PM me with any questions.

Sounds like ACL to me.

Thank you, I'm definitely going in tomorrow. I already made an appointment but they couldn't take me today.

i freak'n hate knees! goodluck

Problem with knees is that they only give you two of them.

Well, I microfractured the femur and tore the ACL off the femur. I will need reconstructive surgery. Wish me luck!

Ouch - good luck man. I'm about 10 years out from my ACL/etc reconstruction and never notice a difference.
It's gonna suck for a few months but good as new in no time.
Oh and dibs on leftover painkillers!

How bad does a CPM machine 'hurt'? People have told me that's the worst part of the physical therapy. I go in for surgery in about 4 weeks, since they recommend letting the microfractures heal ad bone bruising subside on the femur.

Oooh, also, is there anything I should be doing now to help keep my leg Okay for surgery? I use a stationary bike 5-10 min a day, and I've got most of my flex/tension back in my leg. The sooner I can get a surgery the better.

jsut work out the leg as much as possible. YOu want to be as strong as possible before surgery. It's a long haul but you'll get back. Good Luck.

Originally Posted by DRTMaverick

Oooh, also, is there anything I should be doing now to help keep my leg Okay for surgery? I use a stationary bike 5-10 min a day, and I've got most of my flex/tension back in my leg. The sooner I can get a surgery the better.

Like montanaskier said, the bike should become your friend from now until 12 months after surgery. I would shoot for being on the bike 30-45 minutes a day right now. Resistance is not as important as the spinning, it helps the swelling big time. And at the same time starts to build muscles and slows the atrophy (it happens very quickly). If you can't fully extend your leg, just lower the seat. The goal should be to gradually be able to raise the seat and get full extension.

I'm headed into my 2nd ACLR in 3 years, both knees. Good luck man.

Oh and the CPM works well after surgery. I didn't mind it at all and could actually sleep with it on if that tells you anything.

I've got full extention, I can extend and bend it so far really well, the only problem is the pain of pressure when walking on it (so I'm walking assisted with the crutches). I will however increase my time and continue the biking, like you said I'm scared of losing the muscle mass in my legs as well as to reduce all other swelling in the joint (I should be going in on the 25th for the pre-op discussion and then within a week after the surgery).

OK - all here - same issue (almost) today. Made right turn in some deep snow (no fall though) - heard pop (felt it as well), and saw stars for 30-45 seconds.

1) Pain in the knee
2) Limited swelling
3) Black bruise line across the knee cap
4) Bending painful

As I played sick today for the powder - will see the doc tomorrow, but looking for thoughts, as I am no doctor.

2nd part - this is the same knee that I had a partial tear (20 yrs ago) and repaired a torn meniscus in surgery.

Thanks

Hmm in this scenario u do need the physical therapy because it always help for different pains in the body without any injuries and so..........

It sounds like you have an ACL avulsion (acl has pulled away from the femur taking a peice of bone with it)

How does the Ortho plan to fix it?

I know that in some cases avulsion fractures can be repaired by screwing the chip of bone at the end of the ACL back to the femur. What does Dr Mark think?

Good luck dude. Don't know how the micro fracture will effect your ACL rehab but the Post surgery ACL rehab thread will give you insight to how you should feel and at what stage your rehab is at. Hopefully the micro fracture won't set you back from the sucky rehab of just an ACL. Meniscus and MCL injuries heal during the ACL rehab process.