Skiing & ACL injury

[cashmax]

Completely snapped my ACL a few years ago skiing and it was extremely painful. Managed to ski down from the incident, but couldn't even walk for a while.

A couple of weeks ago, we were on a friends/family ski trip in Tignes and my 21 year old daughter had a fall whilst messing around with her friends and injured her knee. She said it was very painful but continued to ski. We skied for a further 5 days, with her skiing mainly off piste and some pretty gnarly stuff.

Still said her knee wasn't right so got it checked out and had an MRI, which confirmed a total rupture of her ACL.

This surprised me because I couldn't imagine continuing to ski when I did the same. Just wondering if it's worth a second opinion or perhaps I'm just more of a pussy than she is?

[ucb]

Don't think you need a second opinion.
Clinical picture of a specific injury is always quite varied and nuanced depending on so many other factors. There are lots of people living with ruptured ACLs, probably not huge numbers skiing, but its possible.

[The_Doc]

Who do you want a second option from and second to whom?

Have you seen a sports knee surgeon yet?

It would be very unusual to tear one's ACL and be able to carry on skiing, but internet medicine is not accurate. I see 10-15 new torn ACLS each year just from skiing.

MRI is not diagnosis or description of what has immediately happened.

[cashmax]

The_Doc said:

Who do you want a second option from and second to whom?

Have you seen a sports knee surgeon yet?

It would be very unusual to tear one's ACL and be able to carry on skiing, but internet medicine is not accurate. I see 10-15 new torn ACLS each year just from skiing.

MRI is not diagnosis or description of what has immediately happened.

She was diagnosed by the NHS, who then sent her privately for followup. They could pull her knee forward more than the other one, but not a huge amount. I asked the knee guy if he was certain that the ACL was completely ruptured and he told me that he wouldn't argue with a senior radiography member who said it was based on the MRI.

Thanks for the reply - The reason I ask is that she plans to do a ski season in Canada from November - they offered reconstruction, but I'm pretty sure that would rule out the Canada trip for her.

This is the guy she saw.

https://www.circlehealthgroup.co.uk/consultants/sa...

[NDA]

cashmax said:

We skied for a further 5 days, with her skiing mainly off piste and some pretty gnarly stuff.

Still said her knee wasn't right so got it checked out and had an MRI, which confirmed a total rupture of her ACL.

This surprised me because I couldn't imagine continuing to ski when I did the same. Just wondering if it's worth a second opinion or perhaps I'm just more of a pussy than she is?

I have to agree with your thoughts. I used to ski a lot and was with someone who did their ACL - they were taken off the mountain on a stretcher and (it was a big burly 'he') said it was agony.

Perhaps your daughter has an incredibly high pain threshold or there's some other explanation. In my experience with mates, the ACL is a very painful injury.

[The_Doc]

This is too complex for this forum.
My best wishes.

[resolve10]

There are more variables to the injury than most people would realise. Pain threshold, age, gender probably all come into it, but also the knee is complex. People often damage meniscus and/or other ligaments at the same time as the ACL which could be another source of pain.

I tore my ACL and meniscus playing football when I was 24. I can say with certainty I couldn't have carried on playing at the time, but it was right at the end of the game anyway. I don't know whether it was the ACL or the menisus tear that caused the bulk of the pain as, touch wood, I haven't done it again.

I went to A&E (probably the wrong place looking back) and they fobbed me off telling me I had a sprain and told me to try playing again in a few weeks. I remember waking up through the night multiple times in agony, like I'd been shot in the knee.

I assumed I was just being soft so took the hospital's advice, and it did ease after a few weeks so I played again. Managed a full hour before I felt something go again. Stupidly I assumed I'd just rushed it back too quick so rested again but it never improved (obviously, looking back).

It was around 9 months after the initial indicent that I had it looked at properly by appointment and had it confirmed with a Lachmann test (sit on foot and pull knee towards). An MRI then confirmed the extent.