Hi fellow kiters. At the end of 2021 I had to undergo surgery for Multiligament knee injury (MLKI) ie I did the ACL, PCL, MCL, LCL and damaged the meniscus after a kite surfing accident. Whilst all has been repaired except the ACL, which may / may not get repaired and after I have been told the repeatedly this is the worst type of injury for the knee. I have also been strongly advised by the physio and orthopaedic surgeon that I should never kitesurf again. I am also aware that the recovery process is a long one and can be anything from 12 - 24 months. This news and advice is obviously very startling.

I was just wondering if anyone else has suffered a similar knee injury and how they are coping and what restrictions they are faced with?

Wow sounds like you did a good one there. I tore my ACL, MCL and MFL/meniscofemoral ligaments about twenty years ago. The specialist said he had seen a similar case only once before...his previous patient was a motorcyclist who had a head on with a car. My knee got reconstructed and still have two titanium pins in. I don't have full flexion in my knee but it didn't stop me doing a half marathon years later. I took up kiting 10 years ago.i don't do freestyle stuff more free ride. my knees hurt after sessions on choppy water but so do my mates. Am getting on a bit older and covid slowed my exercise heaps.. and combined with getting older,, got some osteoarthritis. which means it can get sore at times but take an anti inflam (rarely). key things for you to consider...don't rush back...make sure the rest of your body is as fit as can be including core which means strength and flexibility. the body can adapt if required. do the physio homework. Good luck. ehab is challenging but you will look back on this time as a life milestone. For me, the lesson was that there are more dimensions to me than just fitness. Good luck with it.

I snapped a medial ligament back in 1985.

I did it in a game of football and was really really fortunate that the club had just picked up a surgeon who operated on me the following day. The pain was absolutely excruciating whilst nowhere near as bad as what you've suffered. The lady came out of a shop one day whilst I was walking down the main street of Albury on crutches and told me to come inside and sit down because I looked at so I was just about to pass out!

I hate to think how much pain you must have had.

I wore a pretty fancy state of the art knee brace whilst I was recovering and recovered sufficiently to play football the following year. I reckon it took about another seven or eight years before I got full flexibility back as in being able to bring my heel right up to my bum. It's really important to take the physio seriously which I'm sure you are.

It will take time but barring mishaps you will be kiting again.

Pay attention to the osteo arthritis. Most of my footy mates who I stay in contact with all complain about joint pain particularly in the knees. 11 years ago I made the conscious decision to sort my health out. at 55 years old I was kiting as regularly as the wind allowed but I did notice that I was going downhill. In particular when I climbed the steps to the house I noticed that my knees were starting to get sore.

My housemate and I had a still and we were drinking shiploads of bourbon and Coke. I kept promising myself that I was going to swing the tiller over but when you're sharing a house with a still and alcoholic who happens to be your best mate it was easy to keep putting the decision off. Anyway cut long story short I developed a really bad flu in the winter of 2011 accompanied by an infection in my epiglottis. I literally couldn't swallow for two days and was waking up at night to spit the saliva which wouldn't go down my gullet while I was asleep.

This was the wake-up call that I needed and when I was well enough to rise from the near dead I told my mate that I was off the grog and the smokes and that all of my meals would be coming out of the alkaline diet book I'd bought 5 months before.

Within six weeks I was so full of energy that I decided to start cycling again and did so the 26 km to work and back which was admittedly completely flat. There was an old bloke at work who said to me that one day that the transformation was nothing short of astonishing.The pain in my knees disappeared completely.

Don't listen to those doctors. Their recommendations is for average people not us super-human-kitesurfers.

10 years ago I tore all of my ligaments and both meniscus in a kite crash.
I was told I was never going to run again and most definitely not kitesurf.
I had it all reconstructed and did a lot of strength training.
Now I'm kiting a few times a week, done an Ironman and have a fairly active lifestyle.

I'll spare you of the pictures of the knee / leg ;)

Good luck, and keep your chin high.

I tore my ACL & MCL 6 years ago - not as bad a trauma as the OP's. A fellow windsurfer who happen to be knee surgeon advised me not to reconstruct based on MRI and my physical condition. Spent immobilized in a cast 3 weeks, then (self) rehabed for a month and was skiing with a brace 10 weeks after the injury. MCL healed good, ACL is still torn of course. I kiteboard without a brace, but ski and play basketball with one(DonJoy A22). So far so good, I do MRI every couple of years to make sure there is no abnormal wear in the knee joint. I do feel some minor pain once or twice a year after a bad landing in basketball game or kite jump, but it goes away for a week usually.

I had a pretty nasty knee injury in 2011 and ended up with a full thickness tear of my ACL, PCL, MCL and a partial tear in the LCL. It was misdiagnosed through Joondalup as a bruised knee and I started physio and managed to get in for a second opinion a month later at Hollywood (Christmas holidays and all that). Long story short I didn't get surgery and continued physio to get RoM back and then strength training. I started to kite again halfway through the next season, although only using strapless boards primarily since. I have a pretty loose knee these days but am generally pain free for the most part and still kite when it's kiteable....still on a skimboard with no straps. all the best with your recovery!

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xtortya said..
I had a pretty nasty knee injury in 2011 and ended up with a full thickness tear of my ACL, PCL, MCL and a partial tear in the LCL. It was misdiagnosed through Joondalup as a bruised knee and I started physio and managed to get in for a second opinion a month later at Hollywood (Christmas holidays and all that). Long story short I didn't get surgery and continued physio to get RoM back and then strength training. I started to kite again halfway through the next season, although only using strapless boards primarily since. I have a pretty loose knee these days but am generally pain free for the most part and still kite when it's kiteable....still on a skimboard with no straps. all the best with your recovery!

Sounds like good advice! There's so much more to kiteboarding besides the big air /freestyle stuff; strapless boards and foilboards can provide many challenges & great exercise, without the same risk to knees.

In 2008 I tore ACL, PLC, LCL, ITB, AND MENISCUS, while windsurfing.

I was off the water for 12 months, but it should have only been 6 months if I found the correct surgeon straight up.
Get that ACL done by Keith Holt.
Find a good physio.
Spend lots of time walking in the pool and put in the hard yards. Climbing stairs a lot helped me bulk my quads up.
Within 2 years I was jumping higher than ever before and doing loops I couldn't do before. I even took up kitting too. But these days it's strapless on the surfboard cos that what I prefer.

The advise is bull****. Get a good knee brace to give you confidence and you will be right. You just have to take it easy for a while.
If you have any questions please send me a message coz I'm not on seabreeze much these days.
Cheers Alex

Just kite backwards

How did you do it?