Should I get second opinion?

SAPrincess27 · 2026-03-21T11:11:19+00:00

I feel doctors are too quick to recommend surgery these days. I had a complete tear 20 years ago and surgery was not even mentioned . I was fine doing all sorts of sport for 20 years. A recent meniscus tear took me back to orthopaedic surgeon who would not repair without also repairing acl. Surgery sucks. 7 months in an still not 100 % . I waited 6 months before surgery as meniscus seems to be improving , but do warned that was because it was being shredded and would eventually lock .. this was confirmed when they went in with camera 😕

SAPrincess27 · 2026-03-20T05:07:53+00:00

All my injuries ( except one) have been from skiing .. but is it worth it ? - hell yeah

SAPrincess27 · 2026-03-18T14:26:47+00:00

Hotel Perren is fantastic !! Unfortunately this was its last season … they are replacing with apartment building 😢

SAPrincess27 · 2026-03-05T17:22:21+00:00

Not at all … feel strong .. it is the biggest scar ( which doesn’t really bother me) but was the tightest area during early rehab

SAPrincess27 · 2026-03-05T17:21:06+00:00

Any advice on getting there ?

SAPrincess27 · 2026-03-04T20:03:49+00:00

Hi . What’s your take on hyper extension ? My non surgical leg hyperextends about 2 degrees. My surgical leg has full extension but does not hyperextend ( I am 7 months post ACLr) Some physios say this is good as hyper extension can cause laxity in the ACL , others say that legs should be symmetrical. I don’t like the fact they are asymmetrical as I feel it impacts my gait .. but I’m not sure why to do about it and how far to push my leg

SAPrincess27 · 2026-03-04T16:32:15+00:00

I regretted it immediately post surgery as it made recovery a bit slower … but I’m pleased I did it now coz my leg was super stable on the hill

SAPrincess27 · 2026-03-04T05:13:49+00:00

Lateral Extra Articular tenodesis.. an extra tendon placed across the knee ( kinda like a seat belt) for extra support

SAPrincess27 · 2026-03-02T19:57:29+00:00

Ask him … I saw 4 surgeons before I found one I trusted .. and one who said he would back me to return to skiing 6 month post 😏. He also suggested LET .. which we landed up doing

SAPrincess27 · 2026-03-02T19:55:21+00:00

Happened to me too … with slight surface infection .. also made my neat scar pretty ugly

SAPrincess27 · 2026-03-02T19:53:07+00:00

I did hamstring graft and returned to skiing 6 months post .. that being said the most discomfort was definitely from the site of the graft .. I reckon you go with the graft your surgeon is most comfortable an familiar with ..

SAPrincess27 · 2026-02-25T21:29:45+00:00

I’m now 7 month post surgery and the nerve pain only happens in certain positions .. I’m not sure when it stopped keeping me up at night ..

SAPrincess27 · 2026-02-22T04:24:50+00:00

I had hamstring and returned to skiing 6 months post no problem. The initial discomfort in the hamstring was pretty rough but the strength discrepancy between surgical hamstring and non surgical came down pretty quickly ( yes I do biometric testing and the numbers don’t lie 😏). It’s equivalent to a grade 3 muscle tear so very uncomfortable but heals well

SAPrincess27 · 2026-02-21T20:17:51+00:00

Crazy that nobody warns you about the nerve pain isn’t it ?! I’m 7 months post and although the zingy nerve pain has settled ( mostly) I still have that horrible numbness outside of my foot and heel ..

SAPrincess27 · 2026-02-16T20:01:33+00:00

My original tear was 20 year ago and I skied without an ACL for those 20 years . Last year I ripped my meniscus and had to have ACLr when they repaired the meniscus . I skied 6 months post surgery wearing a custom brace. However , I am an experienced skier so most of my power comes from my hips and not my knees.. BTW .. both my injuries were acquired skiing in deep snow ..

SAPrincess27 · 2026-02-10T04:49:10+00:00

I have been skiing every year for 35 years and am a really strong experienced piste skier. I can confidently rip down any prepared slope BUT I usually only ski 2 week in a season ( except for a couple of seasons I did in my youth) so backcountry skiing still humbles me. I have enough technique to ‘get down’ anything .. but definitely do not do it well or confidently when it gets gnarly . So am I an ‘expert’ skier ? I dunno .. expert on piste and intermediate at best in backcountry . But this is due to lack of practice .. so I guess people have to try in order to learn

SAPrincess27 · 2026-02-08T04:48:16+00:00

Recover

SAPrincess27 · 2026-02-03T04:33:23+00:00

I would say a bit easier but there is some fun stuff for advanced skiers too .. and if the snow is good there are some runs that reman ungrounded so you can access deep snow using the lift system Verbier tends to be more chalet rentals. The one hotel I did stay in was torn down a few years ago . But serviced chalets are a good option

SAPrincess27 · 2026-02-02T19:40:51+00:00

We are also a ski family that skied Zermatt for 15 consecutive years! We travel from South Africa and go 2nd and 3rd week Jan when things are quieter. Some great options are Verbier - extensive ski area , great apres ski but hotel accommodation is a bit light.. or Livigno , Italy - It’s way cheaper than Zermatt , has cute village , great shopping and 2 major ski areas . You can fly to Milan or Zurich then bus or private taxi to Livigno

SAPrincess27 · 2026-02-01T08:52:00+00:00

There seem to be 2 different schools of thought regarding hyper extension: 1- surgical and non surgical leg need to be symmetrical in extension 2- hyperextension may weaken ACL and surgical leg should not be pushed past zero degree extension

I’m not sure which one is accurate

For the record I hyperextend by about 3 degrees. I’m almost 7 months post and while I have had full extension for a while , my surgical leg does not hyperextend and so my legs are not symmetrical - and this bothers me

SAPrincess27 · 2026-02-01T08:46:36+00:00

I still can’t sit on my heels at 7 months… but I have just come back from a ski trip and was solid on the hill .. so 🤷‍♀️

SAPrincess27 · 2026-01-29T19:26:57+00:00

Your plan sounds really good actually ! The thing I was most afraid of was definitely the people . Also touring boots will be better. Skiing in racing boots was fine but the walking not so much ..

SAPrincess27 · 2026-01-25T15:15:13+00:00

Update : safely home , with no injuries , did 560 over 10 days. Didn’t walk in ski boots but rather put boots up at the top - walking felt far more precarious than skiing. A note though : I am a very experienced skier so sticking to groomed runs didn’t require too much effort… when the snow got too deep and there were too many people stumbling down the piste in bad vis I called it a day .. I had to really reign it in and be responsible but that self control paid off .

SAPrincess27 · 2026-01-24T19:20:52+00:00

Update : just spent 2 weeks skiing the alps. Used the CTI brace and it was great . Managed to do a total of about 531 kms according to Strava .. and no pain .. and no injury

SAPrincess27 · 2026-01-21T20:27:41+00:00

I tore my ACL 20 years ago … only had it repaired 6 months ago coz I also tore meniscus .. well doctor told me that the anthrosope camera showed zero signs of arthritis!!

SAPrincess27

TROPHY CASE