A year since my accident

[skibum4ever]

Thats what I was doing only on a shorter step but it was just too painful so we stopped that one. Perhaps I wasnt ready for it?
I'm pretty sure it will be suggested to me again when I go back to the specialist in week or so !!

I am currently using a far shorter step. It is 7" with an option to increase to 9".

 

[EasternSkiBum]

It'll be 29 years this Dec since my TPF. I had a couple of cortisone shots in the early years to combat bursitis. It's a short term solution that can cause further damage to tendons if over used.
The bigger problem was the long progression towards osteoarthritis.

I used HA (hyaluronic acid) injections for several years with some relief until it didn't work anymore. The good about HA is it doesn't do any harm. The drawback of it is it doesn't reach full effect for 4-6 weeks.... if it works at all.

I finally gave up and had a total knee replacement 1 year ago. I skied a bit last season and am planning a full season this year. The knee isn't perfect but it is way more functional.

Keep strengthening and moving... also think narrower instead of wider skis. Above all keep sliding on snow and remember to smile.. you got this.

 

[AJM]

It'll be 29 years this Dec since my TPF. I had a couple of cortisone shots in the early years to combat bursitis. It's a short term solution that can cause further damage to tendons if over used.
The bigger problem was the long progression towards osteoarthritis.

I used HA (hyaluronic acid) injections for several years with some relief until it didn't work anymore. The good about HA is it doesn't do any harm. The drawback of it is it doesn't reach full effect for 4-6 weeks.... if it works at all.

I finally gave up and had a total knee replacement 1 year ago. I skied a bit last season and am planning a full season this year. The knee isn't perfect but it is way more functional.

Keep strengthening and moving... also think narrower instead of wider skis. Above all keep sliding on snow and remember to smile.. you got this.

Thanks for your sharing your experience its great to hear about the HA as I had no idea what to expect.
My PT had me backing up on the strengthening while I was skiing this past season (NZ) so as not to put too much strain on my legs but I'll be back into it now I've finished skiing.
Its all go ! I just had a bone density scan which from what I can read isnt great but not too bad either, I see the Dr this week to discuss and I have my specialist appt next week to talk about my knee (s) so I'll have a better idea of where I'm at and where I can expect to be going.
The narrower softer ski's were a lifesaver this season and I could still ski the terrain I love and in most conditions so its bye bye to my wider ski's.

I hope your upcoming season is everything you hope it to be xx

 

[AJM]

Soooo I'm having PRP treatment next week on the knee , not sure how its going to go but if it means I can walk normally downstairs then I'm all in !!

 

[AJM]

So I just had the PRP injection and it was a pretty painless procedure although the local anesthetic is just wearing off so it might a rough night !
It will take 6 - 8 weeks or so to see if it has worked but fingers crossed x

 

[IceHeeler]

So I just had the PRP injection and it was a pretty painless procedure although the local anesthetic is just wearing off so it might a rough night !
It will take 6 - 8 weeks or so to see if it has worked but fingers crossed x

I'm curious to see how this works for you. I hadn't heard of the PRP injection until you mentioned it here.

 

[Amie H]

Interesting. I thought PRP injections were for stimulating scalp hair growth - I first heard of it through my dermatologist! It makes sense that it would be used in applications to stimulate healing. Hopefully it helps you!

 

[AJM]

I'm curious to see how this works for you. I hadn't heard of the PRP injection until you mentioned it here.

We'll see how it goes, 3 days in and it's a bit sore and stiff and to be honest it feels like I've taken several steps backwards but as they say "you've got to break some eggs to make a cake " !

 

[AJM]

Interesting. I thought PRP injections were for stimulating scalp hair growth - I first heard of it through my dermatologist! It makes sense that it would be used in applications to stimulate healing. Hopefully it helps you!

I'd never heard of it either until it was proposed by my specialist.
Mmmmm hair growth .... hope I dont get a hairy knee !!

 

[EasternSkiBum]

So I just had the PRP injection and it was a pretty painless procedure although the local anesthetic is just wearing off so it might a rough night !
It will take 6 - 8 weeks or so to see if it has worked but fingers crossed x

Good luck... I only know 1 person who tried it. She was much heavier, less active, and very bone on bone. I didn't work for her.. but I feel she was too far gone with her knee for anything to really work. She ended up with new knee.
Keep us informed.. I hope it really helps.

 

[AJM]

Good luck... I only know 1 person who tried it. She was much heavier, less active, and very bone on bone. I didn't work for her.. but I feel she was too far gone with her knee for anything to really work. She ended up with new knee.
Keep us informed.. I hope it really helps.

Thanks If I'd answered this yesterday I would've been more than a bit negative about it !!
Its a week since I had it done and up until today I felt my knee has worsened back to where it was several months ago but I feel like I've turned a corner today and it feels much better thank goodness.
Its going to take several more weeks to see if its made any positive difference and to be totally honest I did feel like I may not need it and almost backed out as my knee was doing so well and I was definitely concerned that it might make it worse by re traumatising it.
Another negative is that due it being more painful over the last week I've ended up favouring my right leg and now the ankle damage on that is playing up
Anyhow its been done now and all I can do is hope it does what it says on the can !
As a footnote I did ask my wonderful PT who's been such great support through all this if I maybe shouldn't have skied this last season and she just looked at me and didn't give me a definitive answer .... I'm taking that as a NO

 

[MaineSkiLady]

For whatever this is worth — I had PRP injections/therapy on a torn hip tendon in June, 2019.

PRP is merely a healing “accelerator,” for lack of a better term.

Yes, it does take a couple of months to show effectiveness. I limped for months. <sigh>

In January, 2020, an ultrasound by orthopedic surgeon showed that the tendon HAD healed - but I still needed to continue physical therapy to improve range of motion.

Well, we all know what happened in March, 2020....so PT got suspended indefinitely (wasn’t considered urgent), and I was on my own after that.

I still have somewhat limited range of motion, but that’s partially due to my rather “advanced” age? I can still ski, but I do so much more cautiously (the tear wasn’t skiing-induced/caused). And that’s okay.

Good luck!

 

[AJM]

PRP is merely a healing “accelerator,” for lack of a better term.

What a great way of describing it !
It feels much better again today thank goodness, I was starting to regret ever having it done a couple of days ago xx

 

[Iwannaski]

@AJM are you doing any complementary things? I ask because I have a friend who was told she needed meniscal repair, and in a desperate effort to avoid surgery, she went to an acupuncture provider. The ortho told her she could skip surgery after a few months of treatment. We have successfully repeated this with two other folks in our friend group and I’ve had great success with this same acupuncturist. Could you supplement your standard medical care with something like acupuncture? (DH avoided surgical Achilles repair with acupuncture…it was a big deal)

 

[AJM]

@AJM are you doing any complementary things? I ask because I have a friend who was told she needed meniscal repair, and in a desperate effort to avoid surgery, she went to an acupuncture provider. The ortho told her she could skip surgery after a few months of treatment. We have successfully repeated this with two other folks in our friend group and I’ve had great success with this same acupuncturist. Could you supplement your standard medical care with something like acupuncture? (DH avoided surgical Achilles repair with acupuncture…it was a big deal)

@marzNC did mention acupuncture a few months ago to me but its not something I ended up doing.
A good friend of mine is an acupuncturist and I thought she might bring the subject up as a possible treatment but she didnt, maybe it was the fact that she didn't want to interfere or she knew it wouldnt work for me I'm not sure.

The PRP injection seems to be doing the trick for me at the moment.

I didnt have surgery as the tear wasn't flapping loose and wasn't deemed serious enough ... it sure felt serious enough

Fingers crossed acupuncture manages to hold off surgery for your friend x

 

[marzNC]

@marzNC did mention acupuncture a few months ago to me but its not something I ended up doing.
A good friend of mine is an acupuncturist and I thought she might bring the subject up as a possible treatment but she didnt, maybe it was the fact that she didn't want to interfere or she knew it wouldnt work for me I'm not sure.

Probably not wanting to push. While acupuncture doesn't work for everyone, it also depends a bit on the practitioner. My acupuncturist lists sports injuries as one of his specialties. His wife has more experience with female issues and weight loss.

My mother resisted acupuncture in her 90s because she didn't want to leave her apartment for the treatments. Also she preferred acupressure, which a member of the younger generation who was trained in China would do for her when that family visited. However, when her blood pressure could no longer be controlled by medication, it was acupuncture that allowed her to have stable blood pressure for her last two years. It took a few months of weekly treatments to get her system set up, then every 1-2 months to keep her blood pressure stable. Note that at that age, BP needs to be a bit higher than for the average middle-aged adult. When she died at age 95, high BP was not an issue.

In the USA, acupuncture is not usually covered by health insurance. So that's another factor for some people.

 

[AJM]

His wife has more experience with female issues and weight loss.

My friend specialises in fertility issues