Skiing without an ACL

have you mentioned to your doctor that you ski? There are big risks in having a knee operation, but normally you would operate on athletes and other people with very active lifestyles. I Had at knee operation and I'm progressing my skiing so don't worry!

thats a bummer man but i was watching the xgames ski slopestyle from 2013 i think and the announcer said there was a few skiers who were competing without and acl so it is possible although it might be an issue later on good luck getting back into skiing.

I partially tore my ACL last year and I went about two weeks before I finally decided to get it checked out. In those two weeks I played a lot of basketball and skied on it. I could definitely notice that there was not as much stability in my knee; it would give out and it would be painful. I don't really think that your knee would be able to handle the stress that skiing really hard would induce. The only way to stop the instability of not having an ACL would be a brace but it may not completely solve the problem. You would also have to go through physical therapy. But these nonsurgical treatment are meant for those who are elderly or have a very low activity level. So basically I would recommend that you do get surgery, stress to the doctor that you will be skiing and active on you knee.
Source: I'm a medical student

I blew my ACL early last February and did rehab PT prior to ACL replacement/meniscus surgery on March 25. I felt so good by the end of February that I skied on it the entire month of March before surgery with nothing more than a compression wrap. Some old dude on a lift called me a pussy for getting surgery and said he was skiing without both ACL's. He was a GS guy but shredded. I really contemplated surgery, but went with the advice of my PT.

It's a total judgement call and no one can make that but you. Listen to your doctor, knee specialist, PT, and fitness instructor...they can really help with your decision.

Cheers

Thanks for the answers! I really appreciate them. I will work hard now and listen to my doctor and PT. I will try to explain that i am skier and we will see how it works. Hope you all have great season!
Cheers

I tore my ACL and medial meniscus about a year ago now, went about 4 weeks before getting it checked out cause knee injuries were completely new to me at the time and I tried to remain optimistic at first. I ended up finishing out the season with a brace because my surgery wasn't scheduled until the end of May, and my PA said that I wasn't restricted from doing any activites so long as I wore my brace when it came to anything that involves lateral movement (skiing, basketball, soccer, etc.).

Suprisingly I could still ski everything pretty well, even managed to ski some park still but obviously not as hard as I would if I had an ACL.

Being that you're young and active you will probably need surgery, thats what most doctors would recomend at least. But as long as you are able to tolerate it, its not impossible to ski without an ACL. If you choose to do so, my advice would be to first get a knee brace and second to start working out/going to the gym regularly. What you should know is that your ligaments are your primary stabalizers of your joints. When the ligaments aren't there, your muscles become the secondary stabalizers. Therefore, its important to have strong muscles throughout your legs to help compensate for your missing ACL. Try not to wear your brace when at the gym unless you feel like you really need to. Only save it for skiing and those other types of activities if you can. Plus if you do end up having surgery, you'll want to make working out a habit beforehand because once rehab starts, getting in the gym becomes top priority.

Good luck man, these types of injuries suck for sure but you'll pull through. Lots of others are fighting the same battle!!!

After several great years living in Tahoe I blew my ACL in January of my last season. I knew I was going to grad school the next fall, so I really could not bear to get surgery immediately. I got a brace made, and skied January and into February with it. I was tentative, and not pushing it as hard as I could have, so I realized I would not be able to do the lines I really wanted, the goals I had for the season. I decided surgery was my best option. I could have skied the rest of the season, but by that point I had accepted that I was done.

I guess I should add to my answer. I would advise getting surgery. You might be able to wait until the end of the season, but remember that might delay your being ready for next year. Being that you are young and active I would advise you to get the surgery. You can come back as strong as ever. Without surgery you are at a greater risk of further injuries due to lack of stability. If you want to ski seriously in the future I would get the surgery. My new ACL is a patella tendon graft, and I have not had any issues. I still wear my brace, as it could prevent a hyper-extension. If I had a brace for my other knee I would wear that too. Good luck.

One more thing, when you start rehab make sure to work both legs equally!!! Although the focus is primarlily the weak knee you'll want to keep your good leg in the best possible shape the entire time!

I finished out a season before getting surgery in the summer. It was doable, but certainly not ideal. Since I got surgery in June, I was back skiing by December after 6 months of heavyyyy rehab.

My new knee feels 99.9% normal.

Acl is over rated. That being said I got a new one 3 years ago and am glad I did. Lots of old crusty ski patrolers skiing with on acl's tho so do what eves you want.

Get the surgery. Just do it at the end of the season and recover over summer/fall next year. The acl offers much needed support for your knee especially as a skier and without it you are putting more strain on the muscles and joint. My dad had to switch to boarding a couple years ago after a microfracture surgery to lessen the damage from 20 years without an acl.

it's worth it to get surgery if you stick to the rehab and don't rush anything. you can ski without an ACL (wallisch and russ henshaw both did it while competing), but you just put yourself at risk for worse injuries

THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN DO IT WITHOUT SERIOUS SERIOUS OTHER INJURIES IS HAVING HAMSTRINGS OF FUCKING STEEL. DONT DO IT.

Theres two possible things that you could do:
1: self surgery
2: robot legs

Thanks for the help guys! I have surgery set to 24th of february. Looking forward to next season already.

Good choice on choosing surgery. you will have more than enough time to recover for next season! Good luck man!

didnt read any of the responses, but i just talked to my sports med teacher about this and she said it isnt worth the risk of ruining the other ligiments

So first thing first; both my acls are fine and I've never torn either of them. So I have little clue about the finer details

But I know some pro skiers have ridden without acls. Twall did it in an attempt to qualify for the Olympics and a skier who I can't remember (might have been a Norwegian, andreas hatveit maybe) rode x games ski big air without either. So it is doable but I guess kinda risky

s.oksenHey Guys!

I hope you all are having a great time skiing this season. I blew my ACL second day skiing this season and the season is most likely over for me. I am now looking at months of rehabilitation and making myself ready for next season. It is not certain that i will have surgery and get a knew ACL. The Doctor told me that i could possibly live without an ACL in my knee and it could work. I know that you should always listen to what the Doctor says, but i am still curious if there are others out there, skiing without an ACL and still skiing hard in the park and all over the mountain. Normally athletes have surgery and it often puts them back on snow 6-7-8 months after. My question is, should I force them to operate on my knee or could it work without an ACL.

Thanks for all your answers
Simon

I tore both meniscus and the ACL in my left knee late last winter and have not had surgery. It took about 2 months to feel 'fully' functional, and since then I've been able to run, ski, etc. Multiple doctors told me that while I should get the surgery, one can live fine without and ACL and that running and skiing can be OK since they involve mostly going straight. I've been skiing just fine so far this winter, but I do wear a brace and I'm very conscious of each and every movement I make. I say be careful and plan on a surgery at the end of the season.

It's absolutely stupid to ski without an ACL , just get surgery, And always ski with a cti brace afterwards . I've done 3 and feel great!

VANULARIt's absolutely stupid to ski without an ACL , just get surgery, And always ski with a cti brace afterwards . I've done 3 and feel great!

Does this make me an idiot?

I've been skiing without ACLs in either of my knees for the past 3 seasons. If you keep your legs strong you can definitely do it but surgery is definitely the safe and better option.