Injuries

[Swamp Dog]

so the "battle scar" thread got me thinking.... what type of skiing injuries have you suffered? We just saw an injured ski, so tell me about your personal injuries.

Mine was in 2005. I was trying to ski a trail that I had no business being on, The Narrows at Okemo. I was only there because I went the wrong way looking for the lodge as I needed a bathroom.

Anyhow, I didn't get to that bathroom for over 2 hours. I got about halfway down the trail and didn't like how fast I was going on it so I bailed. Just ditched to the side. And couldn't stand after that. I've a history of ankle injuries so I wasn't surprised, but I didn't think I could actually break something locked into a ski boot. Wrong!

Luckily my son was with me because I didn't see anyone else for about 20 minutes. Finally he went and got someone who called the ski patrol and I was escorted off the mountain on a rescue sled.

I have to admit it was pretty embarrassing. I was a bit "larger" at the time and was not in a good place on the trail. The guy had to push me Uphill in two different places (with Matt helping him) to get to an open trail to ski down again.

when we went under the lifts my son made sure to make loud siren sounds. That was fun. When I got to the medical building they told me I had to go into town to the hospital if I wanted crutches. Well, I couldn't walk, still didn't think it was broken, and was on a BUS trip! That bus was NOT leaving without me! Matt carried me piggyback to the bus where I sat for 5 hours with my leg across his lap on the way home.

Two days later I finally give up and go get some xrays. Sure enough it's broken in two different places. My mother is convinced I'm on my way to surgery but I'm not. Good thing too, because school starts up again the next week and it's my 2nd to last semester before I finally graduate. Of course it's the year we have more snow here than ever before and I'm on crutches for 7 weeks trying to get around campus.....

But the best part? I did get in one more ski day....last weekend in March at Sunapee. My orthopedist was shocked LOL

So what did you break and how?

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Ouch, TriMom! So glad this is HISTORY for you - that and the campus scene as well

Find some wood, knock - no breaks. No, wait: 2 cracked ribs, 1979. Long story. Trees are not my friends.
Right MCL, 1976, grade 1+.
Left ACL, waterskiing, grade 0, forgot year (stretched, not torn), successfully rehabbed.
Right ACL, 2002, grade 0, rehabbed.
A month ago: major crash, acute bursitis to left hip, I'm skipping PT, it's better, and they'll charge a fortune. I'll live.

DH: Left ACL, grade 0, forgot year, right PCL, late last March, braced and rehabbed.

DS: Right ACL, 2006, grade 3, surgery, patella tendon graft. EIGHT MONTHS LATER, LEFT ACL, grade 3, ditto. 5 months' rehab on both.

And so it goes...

 

[Jilly]

Late 80's, double ejected out of the skis, north side of Mt Ste Anne - 2 sprained thumbs and rug burn (remember the wool inside your stretch pants??)on my thighs. My doctor is a skier, and the first words out of her mouth - "where were you skiing??"
Late 80's minor concussion when hit by a large student teaching "1000 steps"
Middle 70's - pulled hamstring while skiing, repeated playing high school basketball and again while doing the polka at Octoberfest in Kitchener Ontario. Not problems since then because of training.
Right shoulder - tendonitis/rotator cuff. This is a reoccuring thing that I really want to fix. Tests performed this fall, but no call from the specialist. I'm going to start to hound them next week. All I want is cortisone!!
In over 45 years of skiing and "touch wood" no breaks. Many bruises though

 

[altagirl]

1999 - Torn ACL in Soelden, Austria. I was way too stiff and sore to be skiing, but "warmed up" in a big bumpfield. Brilliant - I turned and my one ski didn't and I tore my ACL. Skied down on the other leg and drank beer the rest of the day. Took forever to convince the army docs to let me see a specialist and get it fixed, but I did eventually. Hamstring graft, 6 months of rehab.

2002- Torn ligament in my thumb. Demoing spatulas and walked out of the demo bindings and landed on my hand. Whoops. Healed in a month or so on its own - enough to write with. Took about 2 years to feel totally normal.

2003 - Torn meniscus - Skiing down thirds at Alta in pretty deep powder, felt a light pop and couldn't straighten my leg. Skied down okay (you don't need your leg straight to ski), and then tried to take my skis off and walk and couldn't walk at all. Went to the ER, they manipulated it so it popped into place and I could walk. Ended up having a partial menisectomy a few weeks later because it hurt too much to ski on it. 6 weeks rehab.

2005 - Torn meniscus in the other knee. Backcountry skiing and going UPHILL. I planted my right leg to do a kick turn, felt a crunch and collapsed. Ended up sideslipping all the way down from almost the top of Silverfork to the cabins below Solitude and having surgery a couple days later as we couldn't get it unlocked at all. They repaired this one so it was 6 weeks non-weight bearing and 6 months or so for full recovery. Ugh. (Hence my current aversion to kick turns...) And I know that tear is now torn again - the knee locks up every now and then, but this time I can kick it and get it to unlock, so I'm leaving it alone.

 

[Gloria]

I have never made a list but now that I am it's no wonder I hurt so much now that I am older.
Broken nose ( hit a tree in H.S. ) Broken ski also.
Broken Tail Bone, actually the most painful.
Torn MCL x 3
Torn Rotator Cuff x 2
Concussion x1 with helmet
TKO x 1 without. Way before helmets
Whiplash x 2 once getting off lift on snowboard, 2nd with concussion.
Ganglion cyst
Popliteal tendon
Meniscus gone in right Knee. Should get scoped.
Chipped wrist bone.
hematoma x1 arm x1 hip area
ACL deficient it's a long story.....

 

[Quiver Queen]

This could be fun......
Short version of my orthopedic history:
4 surgeries to feet, plus a couple of broken bones,
"skier's thumbs" both sides, couldn't pick up a Coke can with one hand for a decade, finally surgery on the right 20 years after the injury
1 surgery left knee,
1 surgery left elbow with a spectacular result, just can't extend it all the way,
1 surgery right elbow, &
5 surgeries right knee, trying to coax it along for a few more years until the inevitable replacement.
Sems like I'm missing something....

 

[w.ski]

Years ago (8 maybe?) walking, carrying my new skis, slipped on ice and fell. Skis fell on my hand and cut a tendon. Didn't even make it to the slopes that day.

5 or so years ago I was skiing at Sundown, skiing through ungroomed man made, went over a little drop off where I couldn't see the surface directly ahead and hit a big rut. Went flying, landed on my face, and broke my nose. I skied down and went into the bathroom to wash the blood off my face. There were a number of women fixing hair, make-up, whatever and not one seemed to notice me with my bloody face. I think I was in the Twilight Zone

 

[ski diva]

This thread is very bad mojo. I'd spit three times at this thread, except it would get my computer wet!

 

[bklyn]

Almost all my injuries are from being foolish.

Early 20's - broken radius, ulna and hamate: slipped off the sidewalk in high heel boots after a night of too many woo woos. Woke up with my right hand looking like a baseball mitt. Went to the nurse at work and got a brace, wore it for one month before seeing a specialist who proclaimed how lucky I was to not need surgery. Six additional weeks in a cast. 8 weeks of rehab. Realized I don't feel pain like normal people.

Late 20's - separated and dislocated shoulder: riding my mountain bike on the 'illegal' jumps set up by the bmx kids in the park. Kept my fingers over the brake levers in the air, grabbed brakes on landing, flipped bike and landed on head and shoulders. Luckily a resident was riding with us and popped the shoulder back in the socket. Had to hike out a couple of miles wearing an inner tube sling. This time went to the doctor right away who would not give me pain meds until I saw a specialist who proclaimed that I will have a 'cosmetic deformity'. 4 months of PT and still no where near 100%. Realized soft tissue injuries really hurt on the first night I rolled over onto the injured shoulder and woke up yelping from the pain.

Early 30's - severly bruised hip: rollerblading in city traffic and didn't see the pothole until it was too late, almost hit by many cars. Crutches for 2 weeks to until I could walk again.

Mid 30's - undiagnosed meniscus and patella problems: dancing apres ski with a rather large friend who put his full weight on my leg as he stumbled. 2 years of pain while skiing, walking, going up and down stairs....

Late 30's - plantar fasciitis: running in poorly supportive sneakers...

Funny enough I have never been injured while skiing. Even when slamming head first into the trees. The curb has been more dangerous! or was that the woo woos?

 

[MaineSkiLady]

This thread is very bad mojo. I'd spit three times at this thread, except it would get my computer wet!

Thought of it that way, too. The good news is that we all take a lickin' and keep on tickin', like John Cameron Swacy's Timex watch commercial (boy, did I just date myself with that quote or WHAT? ) And probably should state as much, that the mishaps are history and we're out there pounding it, business as usual!

 

[perma-grin]

Rug burns from stretch pants! That is a riot! Lol! :ROTF: I guess I feel pretty lucky. The Gates have broken or been the cause of breaking, my Tib-fib spiral right leg, dislocating my left knee cap and my little fingers on both hands. My right cheek bone ,nose and three teeth! And I swear to God spider veins on the side of my right thigh from gate contact! And that children is why we should always where helmets,googles,slalom bars ,shinners,and pole guards and proper padding when running gates. And remember nothing good comes from poaching courses in betweeen classes! I did break my thumb once but that was from falling over in the lift line goofing around with one of my camper's, so I don't admit to that very often in public but it really hurt! Oh and I cracked C-6 in my neck and herniatated two of the disc there in panaroma, it a ditch under the snow double ejection landed on my chest and face feet flipped over my head like a fish flopp and knocked myself out. That was way to much fun (heavy sarcasm). I think that I should have just stuck to horses! On a side note my Baby brother age 43 just manged to break his left wrist and his right leg (Fibula) learning to snowboard last Sunday!! My sister-inlaw had to drag him in for x-rays! Lol! :ROTF: He looks like a skit from a bad sit com! Cordination is not our strong point! Or maybe that should be common sense!

 

[SkiNurse]

Wow, I'll consider myself very lucky. Even though I've taken some big, impressive falls (was told one time I looked like a crash test dummy coming down the hill!), I only have one lingering injury.

Traversing across the top of Union Meadows @ Copper ~ 6 seasons ago. There were 4 of us...I was #3 in the traverse. Of course, in a traverse, we were going fast. My skis got "stuck" on the rocks under the snow. I came out of my skis and flew about 15 feet. Knocked the wind out of me. So, it took me a few minutes to make sure I could move everything. My friend behind me, was really scared that I had hit my head cuz I really wasn't moving for a few minutes. Actually, what I injured was my right elbow/forearm. I now have a chronic traumatic tennis elbow that always is sore and than really acts up at times. Ibuprofen, ice & tiger balm are my best friends still after 6 seasons.

So any way. The four of us are all critical care/ER nurses and at that time only one of us owned/wore a helmet. The next week in Steamboat, myself and the friend that witnessed my crash bought helmets. Something good came out of this accident.

 

[Pequenita]

1990 - partially torn ACL, stretched MCL, torn meniscus (left). Short story is, I was on the ski team and had no business being on the ski team, except my Spanish teacher was the coach and thought he could develop me. I showed him! Scoped it out , stiched up the MCL, cast for 6 weeks, followed by an interminable amount of rehab because my leg had atrophied to a twig. I didn't ski again for 3.5 years.

2007 - mild concussion. This was a beautiful spill at Solitude last year.

I've managed some other non-skiing related injuries and am just grateful that I had good health insurance coverage.

 

[tradygirl]

1996 - broken wrist learning how to snowboard. Vowed to never snowboard again (and I've stuck to it!)

2006 - strained lower back rock climbing. That damn injury always comes back.

2007 spring - caught an edge telemarking and landed on right shoulder. Minor shoulder separation. That was a PITA to heal - probably about two months to get ROM back.

2007 last week - re-strained lower back telemarking, and I'm still hobbling around. Missed an epic 2-storm weekend with friends in town from the East. Vowed to sell tele gear and stick to alpine skiing, where I fall less often and less traumatically.

 

[w.ski]

The good news is that we all take a lickin' and keep on tickin'

 

[volklgirl]

Do bruises count??? Every race season, I look like a punching bag on my arms, shoulders, hips and thighs. The people I work with all think hubby beats me .

With the exception of a right ACL quadriceps graft in 1996 from a fall at Caberfae and a permanently nagging ankle sprain from snowboarding in 1994, all my permanent injuries have occurred while mountain biking, horse riding, or just being generally stupid. It's kinda weird that other than the scars on my forehead and the one on the back of my head, everything has been on the right side of my body.

 

[Jilly]

Yah, I can't see where many of these incidents have slowed us down

 

[sibhusky]

I'm impressed that so many of you with MAJOR injuries are still skiing. After my accident last year (for newcomers, two broken wrists after collision with tree. One wrist STILL not fully recovered and may never be), I think if I did something this severe again, I'd be done skiing.

 

[lil mountain girl]

i don't think i can even count all of the silly injuries i've obtained . . .

usually from not listening to my body or random acts of ouch, but here's a funny/strange story to entertain you all:

the STRANGEST injury obtained skiing, well actually snowboarding is rupturing something (still don't know what exactly) in the base of my right thumb and tearing a few ligaments around it.

this is how i did it:

little did i know, i tended to touch things while i snowboarded without being aware of it -- i would put my hand down and brush snow as i carved big beautiful turns, or i would gently tap trees as i snaked through them without realizing i did it.

this got me in trouble one day when i caught my thumb in a tree branch going mach10 in tight trees and thus resulting in a funky thumb which still bends in weird ways and doesn't have the same strength as my other thumb -- not to mention tendonitis brought on by trauma!!!

i just don't get it!

 

[persee]

Luckily (*cross fingers* *knock-on-wood* *throw salt over my shoulder* *make sacrifices to unnamed diety*) I have yet to seriously injure myself skiing.

However I have had some interesting injuries in the past...

Have sprained BOTH of my ankles multiple times by tripping while running down stairs. My PT in HS told me my ankle tendons were like loose flopping rubberbands The first time I did it I remember clearly I was in catholic school in second or third grade and I was racing the boys down a set of stairs (I think we were coming back from the library)... I figured I'd jump the last few stairs to win... too bad I didn't land and my right ankle just crumpled/rolled under.:Cry:

I've also hairline fractured my right pinky finger... I was getting ready to go to a cast party for the nutcracker and I had been listening to music from my turn table on headphones... the head phone wire was strung from the stereo to my bed... I tripped and my right pinky caught me.

My right kidney (notice a trend here? ) got bruised when I was in elementary school.

Got a concussion the first time I tried to ice skate in college. I tried a hockey stop (ie slide/power stop)... my skates stopped, my upper body didn't and I didn't have time to react to catch myself.

And most recently I've strained the tendons on the top of my left foot (yay! something not on my right side) to the point where I thought my foot was broken. Went to the podiatrist who told me no more tevas. :(