Soooo I managed to smash my knee, impact point was at the inner side of right knee . When I did it, I figured I had bruised the bone/joint and I would come good after a few weeks.

Unfortunately it looks like it's more than that as it's been 10weeks now and it's not any better, if anything it's worse. Hurts to straighten leg and starts to ache a lot after a bit of standing up/walking.

After loadsa googling I now reckon I have either a MCL or ACL tare of some sort.
Should this be the case I have also read mixed views regarding surgery and other healing options?

I have seen plenty of fellow kiters with knee braces and bandages etc, so I am just wondering what experience if any other people have had with knees, did they have surgery, was the doctor good/bad. Should you go to a doctor or straight to A/E?.

What is the procedure and turnaround times going to like? Goto doctor then specialist then MRI then specialist again then maybe to wait for surgery.

I don't have private health care so I imagine this is going to be a long dragged out and prob expensive affair. So any info regarding your own experiences would be great.
Cheers

book into south care physio center at murdoch hospital. I had a guy called Richard and he was great! Tear in my MCL and PCL. You should have a MRI/CT scan to see what extent of damage you have! Not worth pissing about with knees mate if you wanna continue sports.

Hey mate that sucks. I hurt my knee kiting a couple of years back and continued to ride for about 2 months. The knee hurt quite a lot and was really sore after a long session in the surf.
I decided to get it checked out so I went to a physio who referred me to a sports doc who referred me for an MRI.
Went back to the sports doc who diagnosed a medial meniscus tear and recommended I see an orthopaedic surgeon which I did. He booked the proceeure for 3 weeks later.
One month post surgery was kiting pain free.
Was an ok experience overall. PM me if you need any more info. Good luck.

Yo vw get a mri, Ct scans dish up about 20 doses of radiation, I've been having dramas with my back and stomach for months, got hacked off going to the docs etc etc so paid for a mri, got an appointment the next day and results within 30 minutes, 3 bulging discs pressing on my nerves a mri takes the guesswork out of it, good luck

ouch!
I have unfortunetly torn my MCL 3 times (twice on one knee and once the other) kiting and snowboarding.
It took on average 10 weeks for me to go back out (strapless surfboard(twintip with straps a little longer)) but a bit longer to push it 100%.
A physio should be able to tell from a knocking test, basically they pull the knee down and wait for it to come back up which makes a knock. If it doesnt the ACL is not working properly.
ACL is all sorts of problems and i believe surgery is a must.
MCL (hopefully it is!) is rest. (well for me it was)
A knee brace which stops the knee flexing side to side is needed and it also locks the knee before allowing it to stretch striaght. (Leg is always at a slight angle at knee)
Kiting in these braces feels so so good. So much more confident as it feels so much more supported. Not cheap though, but well worth spending the $$$ on a good one. You can (will) also use it in the future
Lastly go get private health insurance now, then see the doc! Need a referal to see a specialist for health insurance anyway and then free physio!

As you said, it is likely you will be diagnosed with a MCL or ACL tear…especially if your pain hasn't dissolved by now it is likely to be a complete tear of ligaments (grade 3). I haven't personally had knee injuries before but as a kinesiologist I've studied and professionally dealt with the rehab of sports athletes. Unfortunately ligaments (even after surgery) don't have the same healing properties as other injuries, meaning they'll never get back to their full “joint stabilizing” strength again. Your recovery phase should include your physiotherapist's guidance and recommendations. The key to improving your recovery and enjoying kiting as before is reinforcing the muscles supporting the impaired articulation. This means you should seek a competent sports physio who understands the physical requirements of your sport. Most physios' job is get you back to enjoying an “everyday normal life”, which may not be sufficient to enjoy your everyday kiting activities. In short, you would need to eventually build more leg strength/knee stabilization than before your injury to fully enjoy the sport without side effects.

I had identical symptoms - bad crash and pain on the inside of my knee. Six weeks later I was still gimping around trying to rest it as much as possible - bad move. I ended up going to the doctor who took some useless X-rays. I had to fight to get them to do a MRI (US insurance sucks). That revealed a bad MCL strain but fortunately no tears. The MRI was key in knowing what the hell was going on so don't mess around avoiding it. The only cure was time and working with a physio - I'd never used one in my life before that injury and it made the world of difference. He gave me a heap of exercises and I was back on the water in another two months. I felt pain like you when walking and the physio (and MRI) gave me the confidence to know what the pain meant and fight my way through it knowing I wasn't doing more damage. Sometimes rest can be a bad thing! My knee still hurts two years on when I apply direct pressure to the MCL but it's good as it ever was when it comes to all my sports. I wish I'd had it seen to earlier. Strengthening exercises are key - I ride alot and credit that with preventing / minimizing alot of injuries.

Good luck with your diagnosis and recovery - at least it's at the end of your season!

Lots of good advice here about training for recovery. When getting back on your board, you probably will experience pain due to twisting.

I had a ankle injury from a bad landing and invented the "rotating straps" in 2010. Some meant it was a gimmick. But hey - make up your own mind.
Study our webpage http://www.sportsgear-solutions.com/ and see how it can benefit your situation.
There is a model for directional's and newly also a dedicated version for TT boards.




Henning, Denmark

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vwpete said...

Soooo I managed to smash my knee, impact point was at the inner side of right knee . When I did it, I figured I had bruised the bone/joint and I would come good after a few weeks.

Unfortunately it looks like it's more than that as it's been 10weeks now and it's not any better, if anything it's worse. Hurts to straighten leg and starts to ache a lot after a bit of standing up/walking.

After loadsa googling I now reckon I have either a MCL or ACL tare of some sort.
Should this be the case I have also read mixed views regarding surgery and other healing options?

I have seen plenty of fellow kiters with knee braces and bandages etc, so I am just wondering what experience if any other people have had with knees, did they have surgery, was the doctor good/bad. Should you go to a doctor or straight to A/E?.

What is the procedure and turnaround times going to like? Goto doctor then specialist then MRI then specialist again then maybe to wait for surgery.

I don't have private health care so I imagine this is going to be a long dragged out and prob expensive affair. So any info regarding your own experiences would be great.
Cheers

OK, by sitting around for 10 weeks your injury has probably transitioned from an acute injury (pain and swelling that you get as your body reacts in the short term to the blow) to a chronic injury (your body will try to heal the joint by producing scar tissue which can end up being more painful and harder to rectify). Unfortunately our bodies are pretty crap at healing ligaments.

No point going to A and E. Your injury is not life threatening nor is it acute.

Go to a good physiotherapist, preferably one that works as part of a group with an orthopaedic specilist in residence. He will assess the extent of your injury through some range of motion exercises/pain response and try and give you some exercises to improve the mobility in your knee, plus strengthen the muscles around your knee. In the 10 weeks you have been sitting around a lot of the muscles that stabilise your knee joint will have atrophied due to lack of use (believe me it doesn't take long) Physio cost about $50 - 60

Next step is likely you will need an MRI. MRIs aren't covered by health insurance without referrals from specialists. It works out best just to get it done and take it back to your physio who can read the report and tell you where to go from there. I got an MRI on my ankle in November and it cost about $220.

Now, if report indicates high grade tearing or complete rupturing of any ligaments then surgical intervention is pretty much essential. Because you don't have health insurance you will be put on a waiting list. It might be better to take out health insurance now, if you can afford it. Most policies have an exclusion period for pre-existing conditions but it will probably be shorter than the public hospital waiting list.

Now, the outcome of knee surgery is varied from person to person, but fitness prior to surgery seems to be the key. My sister has had ACL reconstructions on both knees and has no problems - but she had good strength in her legs due to prior fitness and was super disciplined with her rehab.

You are likely to have more problems in the long term if you don't do anything. I know this sounds alarmist but every day you sit around googling your condition you are doing yourself more harm than good. There are a few physios on SB who will help you out mate. I really wish you hadn't sat around for 10 weeks hoping this would heal itself!

has anybody got experience with surgery like this OS? . I heard a while back that you can get knee recons done in private western surgerys in thailand for 1/3 the cost of oz. I know dentists and plastic surgery is big business over there

****, it´s always sad to read when someone has busted his knee when kiteboarding :(

I feel lucky to still have both my knees in good shape, but it often feels like it´s just a matter of time before I **** up one of them during a kite session.

I usually lift up the board and land on my ass if I'm about to make a bad landing. It works great as long as there are enough water beneath you.

Maybe you have some other tips to avoid busted knees?

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bennie said...

has anybody got experience with surgery like this OS? . I heard a while back that you can get knee recons done in private western surgerys in thailand for 1/3 the cost of oz. I know dentists and plastic surgery is big business over there

I'd be really wary of this -
1. You need to get yourself back on a plane with a recently operated on knee and travel back to Australia. Cosmetic surgery is a little different - sure, go to Thailand and spend a couple of weeks away from people you know on a secluded resort somewhere so the scars can heal - but a knee needs a lot of after operation service....

2. Getting the recon done is only the beginning - there is a long stint of rehab ahead of you. A bust knee puts Aussie Rules footballers out for a season, and they have access to a team of physios, hyperbaric chambers and recovery is the only thing they need to focus on. Your physio is likely to want to be able to talk to your ortho specialist and surgeon - how is that going to happen from Thailand?

3. Because we have a football code in Australia that busts knees like they are going out of fashion, we also have very good surgeons here.