{"id":1393,"date":"2012-11-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-11-14T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ati.local\/?p=1393"},"modified":"2024-12-17T17:33:32","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T17:33:32","slug":"would-you-ski-jump-6-months-after-knee-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/would-you-ski-jump-6-months-after-knee-surgery\/","title":{"rendered":"Would You Ski Jump 6 Months After Knee Surgery?"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the first time in the games entire history, woman will be competing for the gold in ski jumping. Yes that\u2019s right.\u00a0 Up until this very year, women have not been allowed to ski jump for the gold.\u00a0 Well it\u2019s about time isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

Any sport at the highest level has its challenges.\u00a0 For 19-year-old U.S. ski jumper Sarah Hendrickson, it\u2019s a bit more than the \u2018usual\u2019; she had full reconstructive knee surgery just six months before the games in Sochi.\u00a0Hendrickson tore two knee ligaments (ACL and MCL) and suffered major cartilage damage. The ACL was reconstructed and the MCL and cartilage were repaired.<\/p>\n

At a press conference before the Friday opening ceremonies, and after months of 6-hour days rehabilitating, 6 days a week, Hendrickson told reporters the muscles around her knee are good and that she is actually stronger than she has ever been.<\/p>\n

While jumping off a ramp going 70-90 miles an hour is rather extreme, Callie Kane, PT, DPT, and\u00a0Clinic Director of the ATI clinic in\u00a0Wixom, MI<\/a>, says like Hendrickson, knee surgery patients should get moving as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone is a little different in their recovery process,\u201d said Callie.\u00a0 \u201cGenerally you want to get the knee\u2019s range of motion back as soon as possible, that\u2019s priority number one.\u00a0 Once the range of motion is there, muscle strengthening can begin with the Quadriceps being very important.\u00a0 Therapy has to balance the progress between keeping blood clots from forming, and monitoring the swelling that can take place.\u00a0 Swelling inhibits the muscles ability to fire properly so you have to take it day by day, and case by case.\u201d<\/p>\n

Interestingly, according to what Hendrickson told reporters, ski jumping is not as hard on the knees as most other forms of skiing because you don\u2019t have the torque on the knee like you do for downhill or freestyle.<\/p>\n

Ski-Related Knee Injuries<\/h2>\n

Knee injuries are common in skiers simply because of the inherit demands of the sport. \u00a0Securing your feet and ankles into the ski naturally moves the stress of a torqued ski to the nearest joint that is free, which is the knee.<\/p>\n

Knee injuries can include:<\/p>\n