My season in injuries

[Started at 53]

Definitely not - that hurts the knee more!

I know, it is much harder (more physically demanding) to be a shitty skier. Ask me how I know

I am doing 2 straight minutes of was squats/sits per day getting ready for the 17/18 season. This is after it took me a month to get to my goal of a 3 minute wall squat (just a personal challenge). I also do 2 minute 30 second planks everyday, and that is after I built up to a 4 minute plank. I take fitness seriously. At my age I can't take it for granted

 

[mdf]

Just got my check from the insurance company for the full amount I gave CMH. I guess I'll stash it away and try again in 2019.

In contrast, I had a DIFFERENT travel insurance policy for Whistler itself, under the (apparently mistaken) impression that there might be some issue with my usual insurance internationally. I submitted the Whistler clinic and x-ray bills to them (props to Canadian health care, by the way), and the insurance basically told me to pound sand. Oh well, it was only $150 or so over the deductable.

"Coordination of benefits" is basically a code word for "sucker!"

 

[Mendieta]

Man.

I was 100% prepared to deal with the emotional toll of being a scaredy-cat on skis. But that's not the case. I am very much raring to go. I haven't skied the gnarliest stuff I've ever skied, but I've skied relatively steep slopes, some trees, etc, without getting anxious. The technique work I did this season actually makes me *more* comfortable, because when I feel like I'm out of control, I know exactly what I need to fix. It's very empowering.

I was (apparently) 0% prepared for my knee to still be as cranky as it is. Especially the last few weeks. I don't know exactly what's going on. It could have to do with the shifting weather / pressure systems. It could be that spring conditions are harder on the joints, and anyway I only started skiing terrain in Mid-March, before which I was skiing groomers and very carefully selected bump runs (ding ding ding!) It could be something else? My knee has gone from being reasonably happy most of the time (except after a day of skiing), to being pretty cranky most of the time. And when it's cranky, it's not just that it hurts. I could deal with it hurting. The problem is that it won't bend once it starts hurting, which puts me out of control, so then I start doing what my friend Kevin calls "rotato potato" moves (upper body rotation), which torques my knee ... on and on in a vicious cycle.

I rode my mountain bike a couple of weeks ago, and while it felt 100% fine during the ride, it seemed like the start of the ongoing crankiness. I was planning to get in shape this summer by mountain biking, lots. I realize it's premature, but I'm worried if riding isn't an option. I sold my road bike, which in any case never fit me properly and hurt my knees *before* all this. I was also looking forward to rock climbing. I was cleared to rock climb two months before I was cleared to ski, but even easy indoor routes piss off my knee royally, so that's a big nope.

I've been avoiding squats, lunges, etc because they were irritating my patellar tendon, thus resulting in less skiing, so another possibility is that I've exhausted the strength that I built up while doing that exercise program, which I quit in ... January, I think.

I think it's time to check in with one of my PTs and see what they think ...

Monique: you know much better than I do, simply because you have been skiing for a lot longer, that spring conditions are trickiest. Given that you have had a great come back this season, you do want to end it on a high note. There is also the possibility that you are overworking the leg/knee. Let's see what the PT says, but perhaps keeping it mellow for the rest of the season (quitting for the day when it softens too much) and resting perhaps a month, and then biking/gym/etc getting ready for the next season. That might be a good plan. Keep it up girl, you rock!

 

[Monique]

Monique: you know much better than I do, simply because you have been skiing for a lot longer, that spring conditions are trickiest. Given that you have had a great come back this season, you do want to end it on a high note. There is also the possibility that you are overworking the leg/knee. Let's see what the PT says, but perhaps keeping it mellow for the rest of the season (quitting for the day when it softens too much) and resting perhaps a month, and then biking/gym/etc getting ready for the next season. That might be a good plan. Keep it up girl, you rock!

Thanks for your suggestions. If I were keeping it any more mellow, I'd be in a coma. I'll get a PT appointment and see what they think.

 

[agreen]

I know, it is much harder (more physically demanding) to be a shitty skier. Ask me how I know

I am doing 2 straight minutes of was squats/sits per day getting ready for the 17/18 season. This is after it took me a month to get to my goal of a 3 minute wall squat (just a personal challenge). I also do 2 minute 30 second planks everyday, and that is after I built up to a 4 minute plank. I take fitness seriously. At my age I can't take it for granted

Wow a 4 minute plank is awesome! If you want to increase intensity and shorten the duration try the plank with your elbows up by your forehead. We have very similar workout regimens. My big 3 are planks, one legged sustained squat on the bosu, and running stairs. Some yoga mixed in as well for flexibility. This has helped my skiing tremendously.

 

[Mendieta]

Wow a 4 minute plank is awesome! If you want to increase intensity and shorten the duration try the plank with your elbows up by your forehead. We have very similar workout regimens. My big 3 are planks, one legged sustained squat on the bosu, and running stairs. Some yoga mixed in as well for flexibility. This has helped my skiing tremendously.

Yes, physical conditioning is great for skiing. Technique is obviously key. And the better your technique, the less you need the conditioning to go through the day, as @Started at 53 suggested above. I actually have been focusing on both, since they help each other. I also trimmed some body weight I didn't have a use for, but fundamentally, I have been trying to keep my TEPP level at a decent place, in all four aspects. Technique and Physiology are part of that. Because they all interact and help each other.

 

[KingGrump]

Speaking of TEPP. Don't forget the other "P".
Inner calm does wonders for the relative slowing of time. You get much more accomplish while time is running slow.

For the "E", a much easier task. Just run the numbers off your CC.

 

[Mendieta]

Speaking of TEPP. Don't forget the other "P".
Inner calm does wonders for the relative slowing of time. You get much more accomplish while time is running slow

Yes my friend. And you, @Monique and others helped me change my mentality towards "bad snow" (including bumps), from avoiding it into enjoying it. I can't thank you enough!

The one thing where the other P helps tremendously in the context we were discussing above, is in having an aggressive stance/attitude. You rest on your skeleton rather than your quads. One of them is more tiring

 

[Monique]

Are there ski fitness classes during the winter in your area? Static strength is a great base, but skiing is dynamic.

Yes my friend. And you, @Monique and others helped me change my mentality towards "bad snow" (including bumps), from avoiding it into enjoying it. I can't thank you enough!

Me??? I'm a total snow prima donna! But I'm glad I helped.

I've noticed that I seem to be very calm this season when confronted with adverse conditions. On some level, I think I internalized the injury as "Well, now you know the worst that can happen, and you survived it, so it's fine." I'm not saying that this is factually correct, but it's helped my comfort level skiing tremendously.

I haven't skied any truly gnarly terrain yet, so we'll see next season when my body is (I hope) back to "normal." Or at least has stabilized at a new normal.

 

[KingGrump]

Are there ski fitness classes during the winter in your area?

Yes. I'm in it everyday.
It's pretty easy on the body. Most of the exercises are gravity driven.

 

[Monique]

Yes. I'm in it everyday.
It's pretty easy on the body. Most of the exercises are gravity driven.

Right, and that's my ski fitness program, too (well, not every day). I work my way up as the season progresses and new terrain open.

BUT if one is not in a situation to ski every week, I think ski fitness programs (ie, lots of lateral and dynamic movements - I think plyometrics) are a good idea. Squats and whatnot are a great base, but ultimately skiing is not about squatting.

I've gained a lot of skiing ability in the last few years, and I can ski more challenging terrain now with a lot less muscle complaining, even before I got acclimated. (Getting boots with minimal forward lean helped a lot, too). My high point was 6 days in a row, average of 20k vert, chutes, steeps, trees, etc in 3D snow. But I had to get there somehow. Also I was pretty beat after that. But it's a far cry from 10 years ago, when I would get sore after 4-5 blue groomers. Not days - runs.

 

[mdf]

i'm home from ACL reconsgtruction surgery. It went well, but he had to take out a piece of menuscus. He said it was behind the kneecap. He put it back where it belonged but it had taken a crease (my words) and kept going back. The blood supply to that part did not look good either.

Zero pain righgt now, but we will see what the situation is after the nerve block wears off.

 

[Monique]

i'm home from ACL reconsgtruction surgery. It went well, but he had to take out a piece of menuscus. He said it was behind the kneecap. He put it back where it belonged but it had taken a crease (my words) and kept going back. The blood supply to that part did not look good either.

Zero pain righgt now, but we will see what the situation is after the nerve block wears off.

Glad you're starting the road to recovery. Enjoy the pain killers while you're allowed!

 

[SkiNurse]

i'm home from ACL reconsgtruction surgery. It went well, but he had to take out a piece of menuscus. He said it was behind the kneecap. He put it back where it belonged but it had taken a crease (my words) and kept going back. The blood supply to that part did not look good either.

Zero pain righgt now, but we will see what the situation is after the nerve block wears off.

We'll both be back on the snow next season!

 

[mdf]

We'll both be back on the snow next season!

Definitely!

 

[Monique]

On Sunday, I stepped into a binding. Well, I went to step into the binding. I heard a POP and my knee started hurting. I tried to step into the binding a few times more, but no. It hurt too much and I could feel the POP coming on.

I managed to cadge a download on the lift - insisting I wasn't injured, just having a binding malfunction. If I were injured, I'd have to ride down in a toboggan. And I was not going to do that. I'd have rather tried to ski down on one leg (and no, that skill is not in my repertoire).

My knee has been poppy, swollen, and only moderately painful since then, unless the kneecap "catches," in which case the pop is pretty awful. I saw my ortho doc today. It's not a ligament. They're all in great order. He says it's "exacerbated patellar femoral chondromalacia" - he readily admitted we could use the word "exasperating" rather than "exacerbated."

When I had an ACL rupture and a meniscus tear, my doc was unfailingly cheerful and optimistic, and I never saw him look worried. Today, in contrast, he told me he was Not Happy with this development. I am to do PT for 3-4 weeks. If it's not getting better, we get an MRI and go from there.

I honestly can't believe this is happening.

 

[Don in Morrison]

Sad to hear this. I hope it doesn't turn into Groundhog Day for a whole year.

 

[Monique]

Sad to hear this. I hope it doesn't turn into Groundhog Day for a whole year.

Oh, man. Me, too. It sounds like there's a non-zero chance that it could clear up with proper attention in 3-4 weeks. I don't actually understand how PT can help this, but apparently it can. If not, though, it sounds like things get murkier.

I was diagnosed with chondromalacia 15 years ago, supposedly the cause of my aching knees and popping. But this is a whole new level. Of course I can drive myself nuts wondering if I did something wrong. I stepped into the same binding earlier that day with no hint of a problem, and of course I've been stepping into bindings since December without having anything even remotely similar happen.

Fingers crossed.

 

[SBrown]

Oh, man. Me, too. It sounds like there's a non-zero chance that it could clear up with proper attention in 3-4 weeks. I don't actually understand how PT can help this, but apparently it can. If not, though, it sounds like things get murkier.

I was diagnosed with chondromalacia 15 years ago, supposedly the cause of my aching knees and popping. But this is a whole new level. Of course I can drive myself nuts wondering if I did something wrong. I stepped into the same binding earlier that day with no hint of a problem, and of course I've been stepping into bindings since December without having anything even remotely similar happen.

Fingers crossed.

PT will get you to strengthen hips and legs in order to take off some of the pressure from the patellas. A question: were you doing squats and lunges in your ACL rehab?

The catching (which to me at first sounded like meniscus) could be from a loose body floating around in there, bone or cartilage. That might have been the initial "pop" you felt, something in there coming off. I had some crap in my knee that would stick in places, to the point that I couldn't bend my knee very far at all. I thought it was meniscus but it wasn't. Doctor was interested in scoping and cleaning up, but my PT was fairly adamant that I wait. Sure enough, it eventually resolved. (And by resolved, I mean the sticking sensation went away and I could bend my knee again.)

 

[agreen]

i'm home from ACL reconsgtruction surgery. It went well, but he had to take out a piece of menuscus. He said it was behind the kneecap. He put it back where it belonged but it had taken a crease (my words) and kept going back. The blood supply to that part did not look good either.

Zero pain righgt now, but we will see what the situation is after the nerve block wears off.

I hope I'm not too late but I had zero pain after my surgery as well while the block was in effect and I may have "pushed it" too much getting around the house. Then, when the effects wore off, my knee felt like it was going to explode and I waited too long to take my pain meds. So my advice is stay ahead of the pain and don't chase it. And don't push it too much early on. Good luck with your recovery and hope to see you on the snow next season.