I can sail! ... for a while (Was: Can I windsurf with a torn ACL?)

From: Mike Eglington (meglin@leland.Stanford.EDU-DeleteThis)
Date: Wed Aug 23 1995 - 11:58:45 PDT

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Newsgroups: rec.windsurfing
Date: Wed, 23 Aug 1995 11:58:45 -0700 (PDT)
From: Mike Eglington <meglin@leland.Stanford.EDU-DeleteThis>
To: wind_talk@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis
Subject: I can sail! ... for a while (Was: Can I windsurf with a torn ACL?)
In-Reply-To: <41anac$68c@maureen.teleport.com-DeleteThis> 
Message-Id: <Pine.SUN.3.91.950823111410.9539A-100000@elaine12.Stanford.EDU-DeleteThis>
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Thanks to all those who responded to my posting, I received some
interesting information. I have also now had the oppurtunity to discuss it
at length with my doctors, and the verdict seems to be that I can
windsurf until I decide to have reconstructive surgery, but that there is
a long 6-8 month period of rehabilitation after surgery.

For those who are interested, here are more details:

Yesterday morning I had a long discussion with my doctor and the
orthopedic surgeon who would perform the reconstruction (both sports
medicine specialists). They agree that, since the ACL is torn completely,
I will have to have reconstructive surgery in order to play 'high-risk'
stopping and turning sports (e.g. squash, rugby, soccer, any turf sports,
etc.) again with confidence (and I do want to: I am only 25). The good
news, however, is that there is no great urgency to perform the
reconstruction, and that until the surgery, windsurfing is not a high-risk
activity, i.e. I am not likely to injure my knee further by
windsurfing. This is especially true if I concentrate on sailing with a
slightly bent knee and if during gybes and the like, I concentrate on
contracting my hamstring, which locks up the knee and prevents
twisting. The major risk is hyperextending the knee, and I will wear a
hinged brace with stops to prevent the knee from straightening more than
about 15-20 degrees to avoid this. Braces are of little use in preventing
twisting, but if my knee is bent and hamstrings tight (which I guess they
are while sailing and gybing) I should be Ok. Other activities I can do
are swimming, cycling, and weight-lifting and I need to concetrate on
building strength in the quads, hamstrings, and calves to strengthen the
knee and speed up rehabilitation after surgery.

So I plan to windsurf until the end of the SF Bay season, and have the
reconstruction done sometime in the middle of October. After surgery,
there is a LONG 6-9 month! rehabilitation period before the knee will have
recovered enough to play high-risk sports. An estimated time-line is:

   from day 1 : physical therapy
   1-3 weeks, basically as soon as you can: swimming, cycling, and
                                            weight-lifting
   4 weeks : walking without brace and
                                            crutches, start intensive PT
   3 months : running in straight lines
   4-6 months : windsurfing
   6 months : squash
   8-9 months : turf sports and skiing

Mike

Michael L. Eglington
meglin@leland.stanford.edu-DeleteThis
Tel: (415) 497-2316

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