marzNC
Angel Diva
Good to hear that KOOS is helpful. I was feeling a lot more confident once my score reached 90 that reaching 95 was clearly possible given enough time.Bit of a delayed reply, I'm afraid, but thanks for responding. I've not had lessons in years but have skied a lot in France and Canada and a bit in the US. Thanks for the tip about the Sweetspot. I was interested in what you wrote about the Skiers Edge. I'd never heard of that but managed to track down a physio here who has one and had a go last week. Definitely good for confidence that the skiing movement is no problem.
I also have been doing the KOOS online since reading about it - again very reassuring to see the score come up over the months.
Looking back at that first year after five seasons skiing, I have a different appreciation for milestones in those early months. It was the middle period that was the hardest in many ways.
Month 1: crutches (injury was during trip abroad, not skiing) and rest - June 2012
Month 2: formal PT, mostly no impact exercises while giving MCL strain time to heal completely, MRI confirmation that ACL completely ruptured
Month 3: completed weekly PT, started weekly personal training, fully functional for daily living, KOOS 86-88 (Mild or Moderate for Running, Jumping, Twisting/pivoting because avoiding those actions), second and final appointment with orthopedic surgeon
Month 4: continue personal training, back to indoor rock climbing, avoiding jumping and running (never liked running for exercise)
Month 5: final PT session included agility exercises, KOOS around 90
Month 6: ready for easy skiing, KOOS at 94 (Moderate for Twisting/Pivoting)
Month 7: skiing at speed on small hill (Massanutten) - Jan 2013
Month 8: started lessons with a very experienced instructor (three Silver Clinics at Massanutten with Walter, PSIA Level 3), decided not to bother getting a brace
Month 9: 3-hour private lesson out west at Bridger (Ric Blevins, PSIA Level 3, worked with Ric the season before), skiing at Bridger and Big Sky included a few bump runs steeper than during the trip to Big Sky the year before
Month 10: skiing harder ungroomed terrain at Alta than the previous year, KOOS about 96 - Apr 2013
The fact that my local skiing is at a small hill (Massanutten), as opposed to a large mountain, was helpful in a way because I had time to get comfortable before going somewhere with advanced terrain. My home hill doesn't even have any off-piste terrain and it takes no more than 4 minutes to finish a run going non-stop, even at moderate speed with lots of turns.
The main advantage of lessons during the first season is that I was able to improve a bit, not just get back to the pre-injury level. Since then, I've improved far more than I ever expected when I started skiing more regularly after age 50. Back then I thought I had about ten years to work on technique. Now at 61, I feel like I can keep improving for another 5-10 years, perhaps even a little longer. Being a coper won't make much difference in terms of technique improvement.