chances of tearing a ACL?

simba 09-08-2003, 6:03 PM

I keep seeing it, so I wonder if anyone has any clue what % of a chance u have of actually tearing one? It almost sounds like its not IF its going to happen but WHEN. I love wakeboarding but I cant imagine tearing that and being out of work for months.(have to support a family here)

Makes me want to ride my sky ski more and more after every story i hear lol.

(ocrider) · (ocrider) **Join Date: Dec 2001** 09-08-2003, 10:43 PM

Ron,

Not sure about the percentage, but I can tell you from personal experience that depending on your job, you won't be out of commission for more than a week if you tear your ACL. When I tore mine, I was walking about 3-4 days later and after 2 weeks, I didn't even notice that it was missing.

I have also been wakeboarding for 3+ years and never once felt like I was even close to tearing my ACL again (I tore it snow-skiing about 5 years ago originally).

I hope you never have to experience it, but it isn't as bad as you have heard!

Ryan

(tantrum999) · (tantrum999) **Join Date: Jun 2003** 09-09-2003, 3:32 AM

Ron, dont be worried about acl. Wakeboarding has its injuries but acl and usualy happens as you become more advanced as the tricks get harder with the landings more awkward. the main common injury on knees i have seen have been on scarecrows.
if you think about getting injured you will! dont think, enjoy and commit.
After all ron i have had more injuries doing the gardening!

warlock00 09-09-2003, 7:12 AM

I blew my ACL on a simple wake 2 wake...just got bucked and landed wrong. So it can happen on simple tricks as well as hard ones.

wicomico 09-09-2003, 7:34 AM

i started stretching like crazy. i know you can't stretch your acl. but when i'm at the gym, i stretch till it hurts for 15mins. i'm sure it will help me just preventing muscle pulls, strains, etc.
also, depending on how big you go, find a happy medium w/ easy-release bindings and support. my bro hasn't used the velcro strap on his in a yr. he comes out easy before any chance of turning knee/ankle wrong way. my ultras hold me so tight i've had ankle problems for 3-4weeks.
also, hope you get lucky and don't bust up anything acl, face, junk...

(blackandblue) · (blackandblue) **Join Date: Oct 2002** 09-09-2003, 8:56 AM

I rode for almost 10 years before I tore mine.
The first 9 behind a 23' Sea Ray...the last one behind a Malibu VLX.
Hmmmm, Hope you have a Sea Ray...

xtremebordgurl 09-09-2003, 10:21 AM

If you're landing with you're knees bent you got nothing to worry about, its when you straighten out you're legs to land that things get scary. I acutely tore my ACL skateboarding, went into a death wobble going down a steep hill jumped off and in the process of stopping that quickly with my leg locked, well, lets just it wasn't pretty. Can you spell hyper extention?

(lakeday) · (lakeday) **Join Date: Jan 2003** 09-09-2003, 10:37 AM

most acl tears are a by-product of hyper extension. when you land with your knees locked, you may hyper extend, which exposes your acl. any lateral movement while the acl is exposed and its gone. at least this is how it was explained to me when i blew mine playing basketball 7 years ago.

needca 09-09-2003, 1:54 PM

Bess,
I went wakeboarding today and followed your advice on bending your knees when you land. I crashed after I landed and tore my ACL, small tear in MCL and some meniscus damage. Do you have a lawyer I can contact about suing you?

Thanks
Matt

(tantrum20) · (tantrum20) **Join Date: Nov 2001** 09-09-2003, 2:22 PM

you know what? that's pretty funny seeing some of you americans suing each other for your thoughtless moves... if you done something stupid, don't try to blame somebody else... you knew you had chances to get injured wakeboarding but you did it anyway... now it's you're problem... the fact that it hapened this way was just a coincidence... YOU chose to do it...
of course you can blow your ACL just catching an edge without even leaving the wake... but the bigger you go, the harder the move, the more chances you have to get hurt...
I've been sitting on the dock all summer now and probably wont be able to ride the hills this winter as hard as I would like to... but it was all my fault... I blew my ACL on a BS 180 and I know what I did wrong...
life is short and you gotta take risks if you don't wanna end up in 30 years from now wondering if you should have pushed it more...
I know I won't...

(cas) · (cas) **Join Date: Jul 2003** 09-09-2003, 2:36 PM

Even if I am a newbie. Would it be a good to get a knee brace (maybe two)? It sounds like, tearing an ACL can happen to good riders, bad riders and stupid riders.

I am prepared to spend the money on it. Do I need one or two?

needca 09-09-2003, 2:38 PM

Dear Mr. Frenchi,
I was messing around, too bad you frogs have a tough time with humor. SUCKS TO BE YOU DUDE

warlock00 09-09-2003, 2:51 PM

Casper,
when I tore mine I had a knee brace on both knees, granted they were not CTI, or Bregg braces designed to prevent ACL tears, but they were good braces and it went anyway. If you are going to get braces get the CTI or the Bregg brace for that purpose. Get one for your front leg for sure, as it seems to me most ppl. tear their front knee. Of course this is just my opinion(I am not a doctor), some docs will tell you not to wear them, that it gives your knee a false sense of security. Some tell you that if it makes you feel better wear them. So it just depends on who you talk to...

(levi) · (levi) **Join Date: Feb 2001** 09-09-2003, 2:55 PM

It was mentioned above to have "loose" bindings. I would tend to disagree because you really run the risk of having one foot come out and one stay in on a variety of moves. That's always my worst fear....have one come out, and the other leg getting twisted around at the mercy of however the board hits the water.

(cas) · (cas) **Join Date: Jul 2003** 09-09-2003, 2:57 PM

Thanks Jason! I have been looking at the CTI brace. Do you know if it is important to get CTI2 brace, or can I go for the CTI edge brace?

(Message edited by cas on September 09, 2003)

(phantom5815) · (phantom5815) **Join Date: Jul 2002** 09-09-2003, 6:41 PM

The ACL is most vunerable when the knee is bent, foot planted and internally rotated. ( which also can include Hyperextention too)
There is not a whole lot you can do to stop an ACL from tearing if your are active..
Knee braces will not prevent a ligament from tearing.
The only action a knee brace has is flexion/extention.
Your knee can and will rotate with in the limits of a knee brace....which goes back to the (majority )mechanics of an ACL tear: Knee flexion with internal rotation.

(Message edited by phantom5815 on September 09, 2003)

(tantrum999) · (tantrum999) **Join Date: Jun 2003** 09-10-2003, 3:40 AM

If your that worried take up golf! but you could get golfers elbow or back problems. you could take up running and do you hamstring or twist an ankle, you could break your legs or even your neck tripping on the stairs.

Do what you love doing, i need to work but need to ride just as much. Think about getting injured and you will its "sods law"

wicomico 09-10-2003, 5:02 AM

levi-
i said the thing about quasi-loose bindings. your right, it seems that way. all i know on rolls and stuff, my tight bindings ruin my ankles when i come down wrong. but for some reason my bro does fine w/o velcroing.
i prefer tight to stay on buy i'd like to hear more on loose binding accidents. too hard to say bc my bro doesn't do the same tricks as me...

(yooper) · (yooper) **Join Date: Jun 2002** 09-10-2003, 5:40 AM

Phantom....
So true. Everyone wants to know the "secret" so it won't happen to them. Fact is, if you twist your knee wrong, it will pop. Knee brace or not.

warlock00 09-10-2003, 7:43 AM

I think the CTI2, but that is only from hearing what others have. My doc(said he liked them better, dont know why) ordered a bregg so I did not really look into the CTI's to much.

(blackandblue) · (blackandblue) **Join Date: Oct 2002** 09-10-2003, 9:06 AM

I have the Bregg...I feel pretty secure wearing it but it slips a lot. I really crank the straps tight too...but even when it's dry I get slippage. My Dr. assured me that they won't slip...maybe my leg is just funky. My Dr. was really pushing the Bregg products...but I think I'm gonna have him rewrite the perscription and try the CTI2.

(tantrum20) · (tantrum20) **Join Date: Nov 2001** 09-10-2003, 9:52 AM

hey matt, I understood you were messing around, I was just wondering what's the point of always trying to blame somebody else... it seems to be a very popular way of thinking in the US of A... and furthermore, I didn't mention you or your nickname did I??? you shouldn't see an attack where there isn't unless you have something to be blamed about...

airpete 09-13-2003, 9:59 PM

You known this may point to an issue with wakeboarding bindings that should be looked at. The question would be this, is there anyway to measure the rotation force it takes to tear an ACL and is it possible to design a binding that would prevent this from happening. With wakeboarding taking such a huge toll on ACL, MCL, etc more research may be needed, (required) to some how prevent these injuries.

(phantom5815) · (phantom5815) **Join Date: Jul 2002** 09-14-2003, 2:41 PM

AirPete ~ Difficult to determine the rotational force that will cause ACL tears. Why you ask??
Because not everyone is made the same.
Women have a wider pelvis than Men ( which makes for a wider Q angle of the knee )
Also need to take into consideration of genetics. Some people have a small "Notch" than others. ( That's area where the ACL attaches to the femur).
Wakeboarding is not the only sport that uses bindings with detrimental effects to the ACL ......What about Skiing?

(tantrum20) · (tantrum20) **Join Date: Nov 2001** 09-15-2003, 5:15 AM

hey guys, the torn ACL is the injury of the end of the century... like phantom said, we're not the only ones to suffer those kind of injury... I heard tons of stories about football players, tennis players, snowboarders, etc...
kinda like a big trend, and we're part of it(I know it's pretty lame)...