JRRRJ
Chief Didacticist
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2011
- Messages
- 1,657
- Reaction Score
- 6,159
The surgeon who replaced my right ACL a couple decades ago was the orthopod for the Phoenix indoor soccer team. He told me half the players were missing at least one ACL, but that their thigh muscles were trained so hard they held the knees together under the huge stresses of high-level soccer. The players couldn't afford the time it would take to heal and regain their conditioning.Congratulations to Breezy Johnson for winning the 1st US gold medal in the women’s downhill. At the same time, I wish someone had been able to step in and persuade/order Lindsey Vonn not to compete with her torn ACL. At high speeds it’s nearly impossible for a skier to hold their line without 2 stable legs. Vonn’s injury today was both tragic and predictable.
Lindsey had consulted with some of the best orthopods in the world before deciding to resume competition after the ACL tear, and they gave their assent. She came in 3rd in the course familiarization race on the same course as her crash. She has raced this course 18 times previously, winning 6 and being on the podium for 6 more.
Lindsey's statement is that she missed her line into the turn by 5 inches, caught the flag with her arm and was rotated by the impact, after which it was all over at those speeds. She and her doctors both assert the knee was not the cause of her error.
There was nothing predictable about the crash, other than that there is always a chance of failure at the ridiculous speeds the competitors achieve.