First Lake Mead trip a disaster (for me)

Well, my friends and I just got back from our first Lake Mead trip of 05. 15 minutes into my first session of the day (8:30am) I cased the wake which of course made the board and my lower leg stop while my upper body continued to slam forward into the water. This was all followed by a nice "POP!" and agonizing pain in my knee. X-rays came negative and now I am awaiting approval to get an MRI done. My doc thinks that, based on my description of the area of pain that I might have torn some cartiledge instead of a ligament but we wont be sure until the MRI gets done.

Anyways, for those who have already gone through this process, can you give me some advice on how to make sure I get the proper treatment from the ortho specialist? I hope this doesnt end my wakeboarding ventures and I hope that I can get back on the water before the summer is over. This weekends Mead trip was in preparation for our main trip on Memorial Day weekend where we have rented a 70' houseboat. Looks like I will be the bartender this time out. Maybe Ill be in good enough shape to do some light surfing while out next time.

Thanks for the advice, and here is the last pic taken before I got worked. I use my friends board (he is regular and I am goofy) and I am wondering if maybe the position of his bindings f'ed me over too. I have a bit of a duck stance and he has his bindings set up nearly straight. My legs look odd in the pic.

PS, if the above post seems a bit odd it might because I am currently on Percoset!

For one, that wake looks enormous and wide. Weight looks a bit off. Wake is so big that I'm not surprised that you hurt yourself from casing it. Wake is so wide and weight looks off so I'm not surprised that you cased it.

Two, your legs look tweaked. Board setup probably didn't help. Advise getting your own set up, or at least taking the time to adjust the bindings pre-run. Good luck with that knee.

It looks to me like you guys were pulling real slow. The wake looks big and wide.

The stance looks kind of strange. Maybe it is the camera angle. I have recovered from Right knee cartilage and ACL damage, I still have some pain anterior, but I can ride just fine. Recovery time was 3 months. It has been a year and a half and I still have slight stiffness, but advil helps. Just do whatever they ask for terapy, and work it out as often as possible. Baby steps to recovery, but dont baby the knee if possible. The bicycle works wonders! Good Luck!

The boat is a Malibu 23 LSV with the wedge down and midship ballasts filled. I was being pulled with the perfect pass at 18 (about 20 mph) and the rope set at 70'. Im a new wakeboarder and have just recently been able to consitantly get the right pop off a wake but I have trouble transferring that pop to distance. That pop in the picture is actually the best pop Ive had yet, too bad it was my last.

Dang dude.... That is slow. I pull my 10 year old at 20 to 21. I ride 24.7 at 70 to 75 feet depending on what I am working on. I ride behind my VLX which is a slightly narrower boat than that monster 23.

Well, that would seem to explain why its really hard for me to clear the wake ever. I think I am pulled the slowest on the boat. Everyone else is up to maybe 22. How would speeding up the boat affect the wake. It wouldnt narrow down would it?

pick an ortho who specializes in knees, I know all orthos say they do, but only a few do.

Pulling slower will widen the wake and will make the boat sit lower in the water which displaces more water (bigger wake). As the speed increases, the wake narrows and the wake gets smaller. That is why advanced riders add so much weight to the boat. They ride faster and still want a big solid wake. I have found mostly because I am one of the heavier riders out there, that I want to ride at a speed that my board feels like it is more on top of the water. When I ride behind the boat, I will see if I can actually advance myself by pulling on the handle and seeing if I move forward. I mostly ride at that speed, but, I sometimes like to just be slightly slower to make the board a little deaper.

sorry to hear about the injury...

- is there any swelling ? (where)
- does it hurt behind the knee ?
- the md can test for acl but the mri will show the whole pic...

keep us posted..

did the pop vibrate thru your whole body? I blew my ACL, MCL and miniscus when I cased the wake last Aug. Generally, the POP, is the ACL. I had surgery in Nov, and was released by the Doc at 5 months.

Few suggestions: get an ortho doc AND physical therapist that specialize in sports. Water sports if you can find one. I play many sports, so that was key. if the PT knows what sports you are into, and what they entail, they are more apt to gear your therapy around it, and will have you back to it sooner and stronger. Listen to your body. Dont over do it in recovery, but at the same time, push yourself when you can. Howie is right, the bike is your friend.

There are plenty of threads about peoples experiences, what not to do, etc. CLUBMYKE: what happened to your link? I think there was good info on there.

Nick: if you want more info, or details, email me., Take care buddy. Prob just kick back for Memorial Day weekend. You may be able to wake surf. Ask Mike, he actually rode after his blew. I felt like I could, but just didnt.

Keep us posted. We feel your pain.

There is some minor swelling on the inside of my knee. There is a little pain behind the knee when I extend my leg fully. It actually feels more stiff than painful with a bit of "bruise" feel in my upper calf muscle. When I bend my knee past 90 it hurts in the front. If I go too much past 90 it hurts like a mofo on the outside of the knee! The nurse thought it was a bit ironic that I had brought, and was reading, my latest issue of WBM while waiting for the doc. Hey, I need motivation to get back up on my feet again. I think Im going to do a clinic when Im healed. PS, if anyone will be on Mead for memorial day weekend just look for the big house boat with "Captain Morgan For Governor" flags flying!