ACL Class of 2017

[yeahman]

I skied at 10 months, but got lucky because that's just how the schedule worked out (surgery in March, skiing the following December). Also bought a pair of shorter/lighter/narrower skis to start. A couple times I brought out the bigger boards and definitely noticed more knee tweakage with the increased swing weight.

First run was scary, but after a few turns I was like oh yeah, I remember how to do this. Groomers are fun as hell after what you've been through. Just being on the mountain felt like such a blessing, I felt no need to push it at all.

[uglymoney]

Agree, skinny skis for the win when you come back!

[altacoup]

Skiing again 9 months out, patella autograft. Knee has been super solid, i was mountain biking 4 months out and biking performance was pretty much full on 5 months out, and actually feels even better after skiing. I'm sure that is just that I feel better about it mentally after having made some turns. My surgeon at the UofU really pushed me to patellar graft for high performance skiing. He's done a ton of pro free skiers and racers and said if high performance is desired he really prefers patella graft. Another surgeon at UofU recommended hamstring, but based on recommendations of nurses at UofU and reputation I went with surgeon who recommended patella. My scaring is very minimal. Full crouch feels normal, kneeling is odd but not painful. You do lose tactile feel on 1 side of knee and that causes kneeling to feel weird. 1 thing to be wary of with patella graft is that some pt return to sport exercises can stress patella. Form is more important than reps with certain exercises. My dad was a PT and has been constant in telling me that it's 18 months until you just totally forget about it (pretty sure Hoji didn't film for a winter after he did his) and surgeon told me that newest research is 2 years until everything has healed on a cellular level. All in all ACL replacement is a pretty dialed procedure, the work you put into PT will determine return to sport more so than other factors.

[wyeaster]

way to go! have a great season!

[uglymoney]

Skiing again 9 months out, patella autograft. Knee has been super solid, i was mountain biking 4 months out and biking performance was pretty much full on 5 months out, and actually feels even better after skiing. I'm sure that is just that I feel better about it mentally after having made some turns. My surgeon at the UofU really pushed me to patellar graft for high performance skiing. He's done a ton of pro free skiers and racers and said if high performance is desired he really prefers patella graft. Another surgeon at UofU recommended hamstring, but based on recommendations of nurses at UofU and reputation I went with surgeon who recommended patella. My scaring is very minimal. Full crouch feels normal, kneeling is odd but not painful. You do lose tactile feel on 1 side of knee and that causes kneeling to feel weird. 1 thing to be wary of with patella graft is that some pt return to sport exercises can stress patella. Form is more important than reps with certain exercises. My dad was a PT and has been constant in telling me that it's 18 months until you just totally forget about it (pretty sure Hoji didn't film for a winter after he did his) and surgeon told me that newest research is 2 years until everything has healed on a cellular level. All in all ACL replacement is a pretty dialed procedure, the work you put into PT will determine return to sport more so than other factors.

Great report but I can't find your age anywhere in there? Looks like a good quick recovery.

The numbness issue on the outside of the knee really shrank on me after the 9 month mark and kneeling feels mostly normal now at 20 months.

Also the knee doesn't need a warm up to feel normal anymore. That was one of the most annoying things to me.

[altacoup]

38 years old. Doctor said I was on cusp of age limit for that type of surgery. But due to being in really good shape and skiing 150+ days a year he really thought I would be best off with patella graft. Usually recommended for younger very active types.

[PNW_Skier206]

38 years old. Doctor said I was on cusp of age limit for that type of surgery. But due to being in really good shape and skiing 150+ days a year he really thought I would be best off with patella graft. Usually recommended for younger very active types.

I’ve had the patella graft surgery. I was much younger than you (21 at the time) but am currently 27 and the results were amazing. My knee feels as good as it did pre surgery. I still ski with a brace on just to be safe but ski harder now than I ever have before. If you really work hard you could be good to go by next season. ACL recovery is frustratingly slow but stick with it and find a good PT. Best of luck in recovery!


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[altacoup]

Had surgery last February. Already back on skis and it feels great.

[uglymoney]

38 years old. Doctor said I was on cusp of age limit for that type of surgery. But due to being in really good shape and skiing 150+ days a year he really thought I would be best off with patella graft. Usually recommended for younger very active types.

Yeah I keep hearing that. I was 44 and a ski buddy in his early fifties the year before and we both had patellar autograph and both happy so far...different surgeons. Mine wanted to do an allograft but agreed to do the patellar at my request my friends insisted on the patellar. He had no arthritis though...wish I could say the same for myself.

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[eagleskier]

I joined the ACL class of 2017 on Feb 4th. Surgery was on Feb 20th. This was my 3rd rodeo. First one on the right knee about 18 years ago. Doc used my hamstring for the repair. It is been solid every since. They also repaired the meniscus on that one. Next was the left knee about 14 years ago. It was an Achilles tendon graft with meniscus trimming and the knee was rock solid until I launched a big cornice on Feb4th, thinking it was deep powder on the landing, but there was some frozen crud just under the surface. This time they did the patella graft and also had to trim up the meniscus. I'm 59 now and can attest to proper rehab being key to a successful recovery.
My first time out was November 21st in the worst conditions that I have ever seen in my 57 years of skiing - fog and rain on fresh snow in the backcountry. It was a huge struggle to even turn and it totally blew my confidence. It was a few weeks before I actually got out again, but last week we did the same mountain in blue bird conditions. The knee felt and performed great.
One difference for me on this go around is that my surgeon insisted that I use a custom knee brace, (at least for this year - maybe for as long as I ski). It is fine for the skiing, as you can see in the video, but it is a bit of a pain on the skin track. I have figured out how to lash it to my pack on the skin track and that is much better than wearing it uphill. I know there is always a debate between brace vs. no brace, and on my first two ACL's neither the surgeon nor I thought it was needed. I think the biggest reason that the surgeon for this surgery pushed it so firmly is partly due to my age, and the fact that he said that my knee was pretty hammered from all my shenanigans over the years.
Here is my "real" first time out after the surgery, (~10 months):

[wyeaster]

congrats! i envy 57 years of skiing!

[uglymoney]

Nice! Good skiing and looks like a sweet backcountry stash. Sounds like my recovery timeline last winter. Great reportß

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[sparkletarte.]

My recovery isn't going so well any more. My patella is back to causing issues and preventing me from doing the strength building I need to do. I saw my sports med doc yesterday and she ixnayed any riding/skiing this year. I'm at 7.5 months and I can't do her required 6 months tests to be skiing at 9 months as my muscles are so lagging. So blah to that, but I felt in my gut that this year wasn't going to pan out. And it's better not to have riding as a goal because it was getting frustrating.

I get patella pain doing lots of stuff, basic things like going up stairs and sometimes just walking. I can't do full squats or lunges. As soon as I hit 45* I get patella pain. I'm going to try some swim stuff to see if that can activate my vmo better, and do more body work to get my quads and it band to chill out. My hammy and glutes are quite weak too. Even though I've been diligent about doing all my stuff.... strength, bike trainer, plyometrics, dance conditioning, stretching.... I can't x-country ski which I thought I could do for some kind of outside sport (because I'm that good at it and not on set track so it's too unstable). I do feel confident in my graft (I think....), it's my patella. I also had hammy tendonitis and bursitis last month so it's all quite sensitive down there.

I'm hoping to sob story a partial refund on my pass that I'll use for a mid-winter escape to the south. I spent a week in Cuba last month and would be quite happy to spend my winter there instead of here! The warm temps and water meant I didn't have any issues... as soon as I got back it started hurting again.

Anyone have a good water rehab program?

[wyeaster]

hang in there, sparkletarte. it's a bump in the road of undetermined size at the moment but you will get through it and you're closer than you were when you started. i concur that cuba is a nice place to hang if you have the opportunity. hope to meet you in the pnw one of these days.

[Norseman]

Sorry to hear of your struggles, tart. I'm sure you'll work through them in time.

[PNW_Skier206]

Anyone have a good water rehab program?

When I tore mine resistance running in water was extremely helpful. Very low impact and helps to strengthen. The running I did was in a small pool that basically created a current that I just ran into.

Best of luck. Keep your spirits high and you’ll get to the other side before you know it.


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[sparkletarte.]

thanks everyone! Now that it's settling in, I'm feeling better not having this ever moving and frustrating date when I might be able to be back this year. I've got goals that are easier measure and attain like building my muscles back, and I have some projects lined up to keep me motivated on life. Things may feel different if we keep getting dumps on dumps but whatevs, this is where I'm at. Gotta go for the long game. Very weird though, this would have been my 20th consecutive pass at this mountain!

And on that note, they are giving me a credit towards my pass next year! Wow, I'm so stoked on that! And makes it much easier for a trip south.

[::: :::]

Stay strong

[uglymoney]

I wasn't ready to ski at 7.5 months either. Also I think the patella slows down recovery but it is worth it in the end. Keep on keeping on and doing what you can while you wait on your patella to recover.

You might be surprised what a difference the next couple of months make.

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[meepmoop24]

I was having some patella pain at 9 months or so after surgery when doing anything that involved bending and extending my knee. I ended up trying dry needling my quad and knee, it helped a lot. Basically there was a lot of tightness in my quad from all the PT that was causing the pain, and the dry needling helped relieve it. It takes a few weeks of consecutive treatment, so if you try it then give it a little time.

[mrkbrnblm]

Looks like I'm the newest member... Skied 3 runs at Breck last week and looks like I completely tore my ACL, partially tore my MCL and LCL, and have fractures in the tibia and fibular head (whatever that means). Headed to see the surgeon tomorrow so we'll see what the outlook is like, but I'm sure I'll be back with lots of questions for those of you who have seen this movie before.

[japavlin]

I walked around with a partial tear for 25 years, finally tore the rest of it on a bike mishap. When I had ACL repair 10 years ago I was 50, and they gave me the same lecture about my age. Excellent sports doc did a hamstring graft, very successful. I even became a PSIA ski instructor at 55!!!

THEN last month I had a freak high speed accident and ended up with a class VI comminuted tibial fracture with a torn meniscus, but my ACL stayed intact!!! This is one AWFUL injury. The Ex-Fix AKA Iron Maiden they implanted in my leg for 2 weeks was painful and annoying, but it helped align my bones. Second surgery they installed plates and retightened the ACL screw. I have 7 weeks of non-weight bearing, so I won’t know my fate for another few months, but I’m optimistic.

PS: My BF is 60 also and 2 years after his ACL graft he came in first out of 219 people of all ages in a marathon!!! He was super fit prior so that helped, but I get the sense that most people who post are too!

Yeah I keep hearing that. I was 44 and a ski buddy in his early fifties the year before and we both had patellar autograph and both happy so far...different surgeons. Mine wanted to do an allograft but agreed to do the patellar at my request my friends insisted on the patellar. He had no arthritis though...wish I could say the same for myself.

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[uglymoney]

Looks like I'm the newest member... Skied 3 runs at Breck last week and looks like I completely tore my ACL, partially tore my MCL and LCL, and have fractures in the tibia and fibular head (whatever that means). Headed to see the surgeon tomorrow so we'll see what the outlook is like, but I'm sure I'll be back with lots of questions for those of you who have seen this movie before.

Ouch. Keep us up to date. Vibes.

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[sparkletarte.]

Things are going well! I thought my surgery leg was shrinking so we measured.... Turns out it did grow a little bit but my non surgery leg was growing more... Like it,s almost 2" bigger! Haha! My hammy is only at 50%- graft feels great but i don.t trust my hammy to hold it together. How people function with tiny muscles i have no idea.

Made myself a balance board.

Had my first wipe out on ice the other week. Exciting time! Let out a scream of fear, it hurt but more from the sudden compression. Iced for a day and good to go.

[abraham]

Things are going well! I thought my surgery leg was shrinking so we measured.... Turns out it did grow a little bit but my non surgery leg was growing more... Like it,s almost 2" bigger! Haha! My hammy is only at 50%- graft feels great but i don.t trust my hammy to hold it together. How people function with tiny muscles i have no idea.

Made myself a balance board.

Had my first wipe out on ice the other week. Exciting time! Let out a scream of fear, it hurt but more from the sudden compression. Iced for a day and good to go.

Is this from last year at Stevens? Glad to hear things are going well, hope you come down next season! Otherwise there are some plans for a Canada trip brewing