# knee injuries



## PGH (Nov 19, 2009)

anyone ever had one? im just curious as to how it feels riding again once it healed up. any weakness or anything? i tore my acl and mcl in late feb, and had surgery about a month ago. ive been doing all the rehab and physical therapy, and i absolutely cannot wait until next season. i wanted to start a thread just to see if anyone on the site has gone through the process, and how it feels now. thanks!


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## Guest (May 11, 2010)

I had one and now i am gain in action and never have any problem. However it depends upon the injury itself if it will let you do the same again or not.


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## purple_sparkles (Apr 23, 2010)

yea, i've never personally torn acl/mcl, but your long term recovery is somewhat unpredictable. doing the rehab without cutting corners is your best shot at a full recovery, but sometimes tears change what you're capable of; i got a bad ankle sprain a while back and i don't think i'll ever feel quite as agile playing soccer or basketball. it's not a big hit in performance, but i do feel somewhat hindered.


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## PGH (Nov 19, 2009)

thanks guys, i appreciate the replies. i'm not rushing my recovery by any means, but i'm making pretty good progress and i cannot wait for next season to start. i just want to get over that mental barrier of worrying about it, and i want to ride like i did prior to blowing out my knee. i plan on wearing a brace for sure


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## brujito (May 11, 2008)

mate ive done that and a little cartilage damage, i was off training and on physio for about 4 months and it wasnt improving so i got cortizone injected, it still gets sore and puffy when i run or do any exercise on it. i've been told it's never the same but to compensate you need to build the muscles around them because you would have lax around the joint making it easy to do it again...


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## fredericp64 (Jan 4, 2010)

I blew my whole knee 1 year ago. ACL + MCL + Meniscus (partial tears only though - no surgery). I didn't feel comfortable doing hardcore things for a roughly a year.

I started running again about 7 months later (6-8 kilometers). I wore a walmart brace for that, swelled up just a tiny bit. Nothing too bad. Then I got a real brace made with my measures, bla bla. Wore it once and tossed it in the closet lol. Needless to say, they suck. 

The first few times I snowboarded this season I felt it. The day after, my knee would feel like it would be full of air kinda, I would just feel that urge to *crack* it. Once I cracked it I'd be good. Weird..

If I don't go rough with my knee I'm fine. If I get heavy impacts snowboard/skateboard, I feel it the next day. 

I don't really care, I'm assuming it'll just got away someday as these things take a long time to heal.

***** REMEMBER!! Physio is pointless is you don't do your exercises at home. The recovery phase is CRUCIAL, do everything the doc says, no matter how redundant/tedious/boring it may be. 

The doc told me that lots of ppl tear their knee ligaments and still manage to win gold medals. Don't worry. 

Get well soon mate!


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## PGH (Nov 19, 2009)

fredericp64 said:


> I blew my whole knee 1 year ago. ACL + MCL + Meniscus (partial tears only though - no surgery). I didn't feel comfortable doing hardcore things for a roughly a year.
> 
> I started running again about 7 months later (6-8 kilometers). I wore a walmart brace for that, swelled up just a tiny bit. Nothing too bad. Then I got a real brace made with my measures, bla bla. Wore it once and tossed it in the closet lol. Needless to say, they suck.
> 
> ...


thanks for the response. im glad to hear from some people who went through the same thing. i dont really mind dealing with the pain at all, i was just more concerned with injuring it again when riding. ill have to make sure i build up the muscles around it like brujito said. it sucked when ever i blew my knee out because i was going through some tree runs after one of the huge storms we got out here. no one was around at all and i had to attempt to unstrap in waist deep snow and climb out of the woods, haha. add to that i tried to ride back down switch since i didnt want to be that guy taken away by ski patrol.


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## carsbybigd (Mar 20, 2010)

I just sprained mine[knee] recently[Dr thought I had torn the MCL...MRI was neg]Like they say ,sprains can be worse than a break.I agreeabout the P.Therapy,mine has gotten better since I started doing the PT,hopefully I will be back at work soon[that's where I did it]I am gettin tired of sitting around the house doing exersises.


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## Cavman (Mar 1, 2010)

I shattered my left knee on a motorcycle almost 20 years ago. 3 months in hospital and 18 months off work (Thank god I still got full pay). I had three ops over that time and it took me almost 3 years to get enough strength and stamina back to be able to run 5kms in a decent time.

If I run too much now, then after a week or two it starts to ache all the time. If I back off the running it comes good again. When I started snowboarding it caused me lots of grief. Swelling, aching, ACL aching and numbness in my foot. I found out later the numbness was caused by the swelling in the knee trapping the foot nerves that ran through it. Swelling went down and the foot numbness went away about 5 days after boarding.

I learnt four things.

1. ABSOLUTELY do all your Physio exercises and do them correctly, it makes a HUGE difference.
2. For boarding, get to the gym or something and do leg work to build up the supporting muscles.
3. ACL's can be re-injured easily
4. Avoid Cortisone if at all possible, Yes, it relieves pain, but it also weakens the tendon strength which can lead to the ACL pulling off of the bone.

I was really suprised at how well my knee was this year in Japan, it hardly ached at all and I put this down to pre-snowboard trip training. Lots of squats and leg extensions, jogging and cycling, lunges and stretching. I got the exercises off of YouTube believe it or not.

I will board until I need a new knee, which according to my ortho surgeon, should have been done 20 years ago when I shattered the knee joint. I am hoping by the time I have to, that the docs will have come up with something knew to fix knees like mine. If they can spin silk from DNA altered Goat's milk, then growing knee joints can't be too far off.


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## Gigglinpig (Mar 2, 2010)

I injured my right knee somehow a month ago. Could have been running, playing cricket, or snowboarding... don't know. Anyways, it used to click and get sore a lot initially, but seems to be getting better , with clicking only if I squat all the way down. Doctor didn't find anything cracked in the x-rays, and am going for MRI this week. It's depressing not being able to workout fully, but I am taking it easy, and hoping I don't need surgery lol.


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## clubmyke (Jan 21, 2010)

Recovery is dependent on the type of repair surgery. 
Cadaver is the quickest healing and Patella Tendon is the longest. 

A knee brace helps a lot (I like the CTI)

The biggest thing is the mental aspect - it takes awhile to really use your leg like you use to


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## pailhead (Jan 17, 2009)

How exactly did you guys have your diagnosis made? Do you have to have a MRI scan in order to know if you've done serious damage to any of the tissue? I've been having problems with my knee since i injured it the first time while skateboarding at 15. It was really swollen and stiff. Since then, i've twisted it a whole bunch of times, but every time i went to see a doctor, (it was usually when i could walk and run and do stuff, i was just worried about sports) i'd get therapy in terms of laser, magnet, electrodes and ultra sound. 
I never ever managed to do the exercise for more than a week because i am a retarded moron. 

The reason why im asking is that i was never sent to an MRI. I've had a bunch of xrays done, usually right after i injure it. The doctors usually grab above and below my knee, move it, tell me that i have a knee of a 60 year old, and send me to therapy and exercise


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## clubmyke (Jan 21, 2010)

get a mri - it will show whats going on. X-ray wont show it.

you might have to get nasty to get one. they are $$$ and depending on your insurance - the cost may come out of the doctors risk pool (btw, x-rays are dirt cheap)


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## pailhead (Jan 17, 2009)

It seems that it's free here if you get an orthopedist's opinion. I'm scheduled for an exam next week. I'm just under the impression that the doctors had done a half-ass job when i was in question. Kinda makes sense since i live in a crappy 3rd world country of Serbia. It's just that, i've been having issues with my knee for ever, and i still can't spill out any of the ACL MCL QCL JFK lateral menial ligaments crossed terms to describe my woes. I just know i have a bad knee.


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## carsbybigd (Mar 20, 2010)

They cant see ligaments on an X-ray..that's why you need an MRI.You really should do the leg exercises.I have also found that taking MSM/Glucosamine has helped also.


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## pailhead (Jan 17, 2009)

I took something called "glucosaminosulfat" i think, for 2 months, but i'm not sure what sort of a change you should feel. I went to see an orthopedist (is that what they're called) and again he took less than a minute to examine me. While holding my thigh, he was moving my calf and it can bend in all directions, but it doesn't hurt. If i understood correctly that means that I've extended my ligaments but they aren't torn otherwise it should hurt. The similar to knee popping thing sounds to him like it might be a torn menial disc. He wrote me a paper that I can use to get an MRI for free, but it might take a while since there's a waiting list. But, even with the paper, he told me that i shouldn't do it until i start getting problems with the knee again. Since they haven't really stopped since the last injury (i can't do a proper squad and i train kendo) i think im going to go for it.


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## Guest (Aug 11, 2010)

I get injections in my kneecaps.
Home | ORTHOVISC

i've had popping knees since i was 12 and was hit by a vw bug.

IM me for more info.
i have lot's of info.

my problem is my knees give out, snap, crackle pop, and it's the knee cap, the thin little cartalige is like shredded cheese under there.

Physical therapy works wonders, build your theigh and quad muscles, bike riding, avoid running and high impact sports.

Google knee injuries,
mine is called CMP controplaciaPatella.
not sure on the spelling.

best of luck, there are about 5 injections that are like w-d 40 under the knee cap. orthovisc works for me for almost 10 months. synvisc is another, and halgyn is the other i tried, last 4-6 months.

it's made from rooster comb protien and it works wonders to lube the knee cap.

see your doctor, and ask about orthovisc.
Avoid Cortozoine injections at all costs!!they tend to distroy tissue, bone, etc.


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## Guest (Sep 2, 2010)

*Mcl*

I have MCL damage and am supposed to be 'with pain' for 4-6 months.theres nothing really that can be done to heal it quicker. Apparently you wotn really damage teh ligament anymore moving and workign it, the area may just be weaker, as you may be favouring teh joint without even realising. This must have been the case as i came down after 1'ing a fence bonk and must have been twistign still when the weight came down on my bad knee...BOOOM havnt been able to walk the past three days.

pretty sure its my season ender. as soon as im home ill be having some physio and doing all i can to (atleast) mentally get my head back into shredding before the 10/11 canadian season :thumbsup:


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## mdmike (Sep 18, 2010)

knee injuries are one of those injuries that are hard to heal. basically you really cant not use the knee like you can a broken hand or arm. i tore my cartilage(meniscus) almost in half in one knee and tore the other knee pretty good at the same time(used to play soccer and planted my feet to turn which didnt work out well) just like any other injury the best thing you can do is stay away from stressful activites to the injury and do your rehab until it is complete. i neglected to do those two things and now i have almost perminant pain in my knees that really doesnt go away. another thing listen to your doctors and dont do anything you dont feel comfortable with


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## RVM (Jan 31, 2007)

I have sprained my right MCL twice while snowboarding. The injuries were almost precisely one year apart, at the same mountain, on the same run. It sucked, and both injuries ended my season. Fortunately, both times were in late March so I didn't lose that much riding time. Last year I didn't have any injuries.

It took about 4-6 months to recover from my sprains. I did a lot of stationary bike riding, squats (heavy and light), leg extensions, deadlifts etc. during my recovery. It feels solid now, though occassionally if I go on a long hike or do lots of climbing I still feel a weird sensation in my right MCL/knee area. It's not quite painful but it's not a good feeling. As far as snowboarding goes, I find that having had those right knee injuries has forced me to ride with better technique (both sprains were partially due to poor riding technique). I don't generally get any pain while riding.

*DO NOT RUSH YOUR RECOVERY!* You shouldn't have any problems getting back on the mountain if you take it slow and easy. The knee can take a long time to heal, especially the ligaments, because of the low amount of blood that gets delivered to that area of the body. Trying to push your knee hard before it is ready will most likely end with you hurting it again, with possibly worse results.

I can't even think about my knee injuries without getting at least a little bit queasy. I am a lot more careful now because I am not willing to senselessly risk an injury that prevents me from being active.


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## Towkin (Oct 14, 2010)

Sprained left knee boarding. I had my angles too wide (was trying out 30, -30) and the weight of the board on my knee during the lift rides got me. I could barely put weight on it, and walking up and down steps for about a month was a task. But like others said, take baby steps to strenghen the knee. i work out a lot, and couldn't put much weight on it for that month. After that I started with low weights and SLOWLY increased it up over months. This was last season, now my knee feels 100%. Actually, I feel a lot stronger than before because I consciuosly took the time to build up my entire lower body. Oh yeah, I changed back to my old angles too, lol.


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## Mysticfalcon (Nov 27, 2007)

I tore my patella tendon a couple years ago. It took a few months to get it back to about 85% but I could never get it all the way to where it stopped bothering me. On the advice of a friend I started wearing Vibram 5-fingers as my full time shoes. 3 weeks of those and my knee was back to 100%. Normal shoes make walking always an impact because of the heel strike. You can't heel strike wearing 5-fingers so your walking will change and make walking and running much less of an impact activity allowing things to finish healing faster.


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## baldylox (Dec 27, 2007)

Mysticfalcon said:


> I tore my patella tendon a couple years ago. It took a few months to get it back to about 85% but I could never get it all the way to where it stopped bothering me. On the advice of a friend I started wearing Vibram 5-fingers as my full time shoes. 3 weeks of those and my knee was back to 100%. Normal shoes make walking always an impact because of the heel strike. You can't heel strike wearing 5-fingers so your walking will change and make walking and running much less of an impact activity allowing things to finish healing faster.


You wear your five fingers at work?


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## Mysticfalcon (Nov 27, 2007)

every day. They are the only shoes Ive worn other than bike shoes since May

I should get a cut from the number of people Ive convinced to buy a pair while selling them a new furnace.


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## ETM (Aug 11, 2009)

I am 5 weeks out from an ACL reconstruction. I had the LARS ligament operation where they give you an artificial ligament and am doing physio to get my knee nice and fit for japan in feb


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## RVM (Jan 31, 2007)

if you gotta damage a ligament in the knee the ACL is the one you want to damage. It gets more bloodflow and is "easy" to repair. The MCL and LCL are usually left to heal on their own because reconstructive surgery on those almost always proves fruitless and often detrimental.

I haven't heard of the artifical ligament you are referring to. How is it working out for you so far? Is the artifical ligament supposed to get you back to 100%? how did they attach it?





ETM said:


> I am 5 weeks out from an ACL reconstruction. I had the LARS ligament operation where they give you an artificial ligament and am doing physio to get my knee nice and fit for japan in feb


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