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Bad Knee

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MWwarrior
Posts: 244 - Karma: 53
Last winter I tore mt MCL riden some boxes. now I have to ride with a brace all the time who else out there has bad knee trouble?
Jun 25 2010 8:18PM
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chardi
Posts: 5040 - Karma: 59
i had minor knee trouble, nothing serious, just hurt all winter because i never rested it, didn't tear anything, just like sprained it. knee injuries suck, +vibes man sorry to hear that.

anyway there was a thread just recently about skiing with a knee brace, i'd probably be like the first one if you searched knee brace.
Jun 25 2010 8:30PM
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the-big-lepowski
Posts: 1212 - Karma: 541
yeah, if there is any sport other than running where you will find sympathy for knee injuries, its skiing. hell, even if you land your trick, it can still hurt your knee. skiing pounds the knees like few others can, and although all my ligaments are fine, I have major cartilage damage in my right. It was an overuse, repetive impact injury called osteochondritis dissecans, and at 17, its taken me 2 surgeries and two years of most action sports to heal it. I'm at 15 months out of 24 to 36 total months for fully hardened cartilage, and it's been hard.
I'm always curious to meet others who've gone through OCD. However, it bothers me, especially in skiing, when people tend to claim injuries. Its nothing fun and nothing to brag about. A joint with worn out cartilage or one that had the ACL replace X number of times is not a testament of a more "core" skier. I am all for joint commiseration on a website like NS, especially when you can learn from other's rehab techniques, but simply listing the bodily damage is pointless.
I am out for 2 years on an injury that I do not feel responsible for. I did not particularly crash, but rather, by continuous running and skiing, a lesion of my cartilage and bone of the lateral femoral condyle simply died and fell off. I've never "broken" a bone in my body. it can happen to you, so, as cliched as it is, listen to your body; respect it.
I will ski for the rest of my life.
Jun 25 2010 9:45PM
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FreeskierRocco.
Posts: 3740 - Karma: 91

Dislocated my knee in my 08/09 season. Overshot a 30ft stepdown to flats. Bad day....

I was in a straight leg brace for 8 weeks, and now I have to wear a brace for sports (skiing, biking and soccer for me).

Jun 25 2010 10:11PM
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skyabamba
Posts: 1144 - Karma: 10
i am to the point of not being able to ski what so ever. i have 2 incredibly screwed up knees and no health insurance so i have no clue what the diagnosis is. They started hurting a couple seasons ago and haven't stopped getting worse since. I never really crash that hard and i've never specifically hurt my knees in any particular crash. i'm pretty sure it is just from skiing as hard as i could ever since i was 3 years old. that being said i really hope it is just torn ligaments and not this OCD that your talking about. (keeping my fingers crossed and shopping for some nice braces in the mean time!)
Oct 17 2010 5:24PM
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Steezyshred
Posts: 228 - Karma: 69
Did you have to have surgery? Tore my MCL 2 years ago, Wore a Don-joy brace all last season and my knee felt great- took it a little easier last season but by the end of the year I felt almost 100% again- Class 3 MCL Tear - no surgery(doctor said it was 50/50 chance I would need it even after PT), but I just opted for tons of PT and Resistance strengthening!- No longer use the brace, but It definitely helped and added additional support

Listen to your knee- if it starts getting really soar- take it back a notch, this year may be less than desirable, but take care of yourself and hopefully next season shouldn't be too big of an issue
Oct 18 2010 10:38AM
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NoBigDeal
Posts: 2790 - Karma: 629
I've got a plate and 5 screws through my right tibia in my knee joint, I havn't skied yet this season and it happend about 4 months ago so i'm almost fully recovered. Hopefully i knee brace will do the trick
Oct 18 2010 11:25AM
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loganimlach
Posts: 5132 - Karma: 14,054
had a full acl tear and two bucket handle tears in my lateral miniscus almost 2 and a half years ago. the bucket handles were shaved out, and my doctor talked me into a same knee patella graft, bad choice. now i have tendonitis in my right patella tendon, and my knee is sore during and after any physical activity. new acl is okay though. they casted my knee and got me a townsend custom knee brace that i wear skiing, skating and playing hockey, but not really for anything else.
Oct 18 2010 11:45AM
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letsgofilm
Posts: 106 - Karma: 29
i feel like most skiers have bad knees lol but already had surgery once for plika, sprained MCL several times, partially torn miniscus, nerve damage, and a whole lota scar tissue. gotta love knees.
Oct 18 2010 11:47AM
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twin-tip-hero
Posts: 2896 - Karma: 277
yeah im skiing on repaired ACL from two years ago. last year was my first year, and it gave me some trouble when i would land really backseat and stretch the knee. but other than that no issues.
Oct 18 2010 11:54AM
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Alkyy
Posts: 2839 - Karma: 149
2 acl/ miniscus surgeries and 2 donjoy defiance braces later Im hoping for my first full year in 2 years, 10 days the first year and 20 the second isnt working for me... Remember to work out, STRETCH and dont work one leg harder then the other.
Oct 18 2010 12:06PM
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ideal
Posts: 149 - Karma: 30

where do you get the knee braces from, whats the best one??? im recovering from a car crash and have to start lookin for one. im still doing physical therapy but i really dont want to ask them for a knee brace for skiing yet.

Oct 18 2010 12:30PM
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MikeTK
Posts: 549 - Karma: 126

The end of last season i had a bad wreck and it messed up my knee.

I didn't do anything about it all summer cause i thought it would heal itself up.

finally a month or two ago i went in to the doctors to get it checked out.

they said that my Femur had twisted causing my knee cap to slide out of place and they were really surprised that i put up with it all summer.

I've been going to physical therapy and im hoping that ill be all ready by the time ski resorts open :)

Oct 18 2010 2:25PM
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letsgofilm
Posts: 106 - Karma: 29
the ones that they make for FMX are really good but they're also really expensive.
Oct 18 2010 2:54PM
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squibble
Posts: 4569 - Karma: 104
Are you getting sharp pains?
Oct 18 2010 4:51PM
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Zimmerman
Posts: 6992 - Karma: 1,021
i tore my ACL just before this season and am now out for the year. i have my life
Oct 18 2010 5:21PM
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skyabamba
Posts: 1144 - Karma: 10
oh yes. Al sorts of pain... all the time.
Oct 22 2010 3:02PM
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franke
Posts: 264 - Karma: 17
what the best exercises to do preseason to strengthen knees
Oct 22 2010 3:38PM
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loganimlach
Posts: 5132 - Karma: 14,054
riding a bike as much as you can.
Oct 22 2010 3:39PM
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letsgofilm
Posts: 106 - Karma: 29
squats
Oct 22 2010 5:21PM
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ghick
Posts: 429 - Karma: 149
i have patellafemoral pain syndrome. ain't nothing i can do about it to heal it fully. fuckin sucks.
Oct 22 2010 5:28PM
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snomaster
Posts: 3346 - Karma: 5,771
*asterisk*, like the ones selling here: https://www.newschoolers.com/ns/forums/readthread/thread_id/571339/
that said, to transition away from my custom kinda bulky brace (CTI2), I started using $10 wrestler-style lycra/padded braces just to keep everything tight and give me confidence. I use them on both knees every time I ride.
Don't use braces when you are working out, just during high risk activity. And remember, running, especially on pavement, trashes knees. I read above about a cartilage problem from running: no shit. If you run and start to get sore, crank it back. Go for shorter runs, do more knee strength training, etc.

Also, someone above said they have really bad knees and don't have health insurance. That is the stupidest thing ever; and I'm sure this guy is not alone. One thing Obama has done is fixed the issue with pre-existing injuries and getting new insurance. It doesn't matter what health problems you have anymore, they have to insure you. It's not worth the risk to skip out on this. I just looked at the first bill of many coming because I just broke my back DH biking Oct 2nd: $102,000. But, since I have decent insurance ($135/mo) my max out of pocket is $2,000. I was fully padded, full face and 661 pressure suit with turtle shell. None of it mattered when I struck the base of a tree with the top of my head and compressed T4-T5 with minor spinal chord damage. scary ass shit, but I'm already home and walking again (mostly with cane).

sorry to ramble. and I know I am mostly preaching to the choir but I see evidence of lack of knowledge above and felt I should share.

**SPARK NOTES**
-make sure you always have health insurance for eXtreme activities.
-be wary of running if you have any knee issues.
-wear braces if you're hurt. there are plenty of options.
Oct 22 2010 6:11PM
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little_boo
Posts: 1303 - Karma: 231
patellar tendonitis and patellar tracking syndrome.
have to wear a brace sometimes too, but i've only had to use the sleeve braces, thankfully
Oct 22 2010 6:27PM
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DHogg
Posts: 3462 - Karma: 237
Get out on a bike as much as you can, do squats, lunges, and use a half swiss ball on one leg.
Oct 22 2010 6:37PM
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Mykel
Posts: 1560 - Karma: 84
I had a minor tear in my MCL and a bad strain in my ACL in 2003. That's when I first got my knee brace.  I wore that for a few seasons, but as my knee got stronger I stopped wearing it.  Now I'm 25 and the last two years I've spent more time in a cubicle than exercising, so my joints have gotten weaker.  I wore my brace almost full time last winter, and contemplated getting a second one for my left knee. 

I've had a couple "mildly blown" knees over the years, including one at the end of last season.  They definitely hurt more and take longer to recover when I'm in worse shape.  The key is really to make sure they are strong and exercised well.  Stretch them regularly, and give them time to heal if they are hurt. 

If my knee is feeling weak at all, I wear my brace.  It doesn't hinder my movement too much, and I got used to it pretty quickly.
Oct 22 2010 6:57PM
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schwinger
Posts: 147 - Karma: 10
If you do the right rehab post op you will be fine. Put in the effort to be as strong as possible.

I had 30% of my meniscus cartilage taken out of my knee when i was 13, I am almost 18 now and my knee hasn't hurt once and i have been ski 6 months of the year and play football for the other 6 months.


Oct 23 2010 1:24AM
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Ducky.
Posts: 5811 - Karma: 1,420
Welcome to skiing
Oct 23 2010 1:56AM
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agame4life
Posts: 185 - Karma: 30
me 2 dawg. acl, mcl, meniscus all shredded
Oct 23 2010 2:11AM
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skyabamba
Posts: 1144 - Karma: 10
yeah i kinda already knew all that but thanks anyways.... its not really a choice for me right now. Im getting health insurance asap its not like im just fuckin chill with not having any....
Oct 23 2010 3:35PM
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PartyHon
Posts: 2019 - Karma: 425
knee injuries suck. ive torn both of my ACL's. one skiing and one mountain biking. recovery sucks just find some motivation to keep going(skiing)

+++vibes
Oct 23 2010 3:42PM
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snomaster
Posts: 3346 - Karma: 5,771
good on you for this. and good luck too.
Oct 23 2010 4:18PM
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skyabamba
Posts: 1144 - Karma: 10
thanks... i guess?
Oct 23 2010 4:31PM
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.Midwest
Posts: 493 - Karma: 22
I hopped on the ACL bandwagon a few years back. (Not from skiing, PM me if you actually care.) Just push hard in rehab. However, injuries can be a fantastic conversation starter. I was talking to this guy at a local ski shop about various things, and when I told him I tore my ACL, he goes "Dude sick! Me too!" "yeah?" "Yeah dude! Twice!" He seemed genuinely proud.
Oct 23 2010 10:44PM
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Travapple.
Posts: 6787 - Karma: 88
I completely tore my ACL on new years eve, i hammered on the pre-op and i was walking a couple days before my surgery. post surgery went pretty well too, got my range of motion back pretty damn quick, still no problems with my knee, hoping i can strengthen it to 100 percent before the aeson starts.

Also, my doctor doesnt want me to wear a brace at all because he says you become dependent on it, and actually harms your knee in the long run. im thinking im just gonna wear an elastic knee wrap anyway.
Oct 24 2010 12:10AM
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Brentizzle
Posts: 1584 - Karma: 1,871
Fully tore my ACL this summer at hood. Shit sucks
Oct 24 2010 11:38AM
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