Messages posted by : djtj
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Hi Jon,
I ruptured an ACL a few years ago, like GreenGoblin playing football although there was nobody anywhere near me so can't blame it on a bad tackle! I had to have a full ACL reconstruction, which basically means they cut a piece of tendon from somewhere else on your leg where there is plenty spare, and use that piece to build a new ACL, pinning it top and bottom. It entirely depends on the extent of your ACL injury - a minor tear and they may just recommend surgery to repair the cartilage, and physio to strengthen the ACL. If it is a substantial tear or a rupture, you might need a reconstruction. All will depend on the outcome of the MRI! The recovery time from a full ACL reconstruction is substantial. You can usually run on it after around 1-2 months (carefully!), since there is no turning/twisting motion with running in a straight line. Sports involving twisting, e.g. football, tennis will be much longer - probably 6-9 months. And skiing is the hardest of all on the ACL - you would be looking at 12 months before skiing on it. But the good news is you will definitely be able to ski on it again, you just might have to miss a year's skiing. I have done 3 fill ski weeks on mine now, with no problems. I do wear a brace now when skiing - more for a bit of extra protection and confidence really. According to the consultant the ACL should be more than 95% as strong as before the injury, but there is no harm in wearing one. I use this one: http://www.donjoy.eu/en_UK/63949Drytex-Playmaker.html - cost about £140 online, for the peace of mind it gives its a bargain. As others have said, the physio is your new best friend. Do all your exercises religiously, and then some. Building the muscles around your knee, particularly quads and hams, is the key - these muscles will really protect the knee and provide stability. In fact, I have heard various accounts of people having a ruptured ACL, not getting it repaired at all, and still skiing due to the strength built up in their surrounding muscles. Wouldn't necessarily recommend that course of action though! And yep, private healthcare is awesome - I also got mine done on work's insurance. The consultant's secretary phoned me and said "yep, we've had the MRI scan results and can confirm that you need the reconstruction surgery. He can fit you in on Wednesday." Beats NHS waiting lists! Best of luck. Tim |
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Not necessarily - I staggered out of the KK at about 02:30, about 3 hrs before my coach to the airport was due to leave... :shock: |
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I have always put my boots in the hold baggage. Having heard too many stories of people being refused them either at airport security or at the gate, I don't want to risk taking them as hand luggage.
Most airlines let you have either 1 or 2 hold bags per person, as long as combined they don't exceed the weight limit (usually 20kg). I always use my soft boot bag, but completely stuff the boots and surrounding the boots with socks, boxers, thermals, hats etc to protect them from the inevitable rough treatment from the baggage handlers. That means I can then take a smaller bag as my second bag, since quite a bit of volume has been transferred into the boot bag in the shape of underwear! Mostly I have flown on charter-type flights, e.g. Monarch, Thomson etc. The budget guys (Easyjet etc) I think charge per-bag, rather than a weight allowance to do with as you see fit, so of course YMMV. |
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94 sleeps...
Or, 51 work days, accounting for holiday/Christmas etc - which does sound a lot better! |
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There's a thread going on over on Snowheads at the moment around winter tyres, with an actual expert on the subject (shock horror)!
If anyone has specific questions on winter tyres, or general advice, that would be a good place to ask them. http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=91733 |
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1. Val D'Isere / EK
2. St Anton 3. Serre Chevalier 4. La Thuile 5. Soll Val D'Isere and Tignes/EK is incredible, the skiing is just fantastic there. Also Val D'Isere itself is lovely. St Anton ski area is amazing as well. Serre Chevalier is underrated I feel - big ski area with some excellent runs, but not talked about as much as some of the bigger resorts. La Thuile - Decent ski area, enough to keep me and Mrs DJTJ occupied for a week, but limited in terms of atmosphere and things to do other than skiing. Soll - I'm sure the rest of the SkiWelt is great, but this was our first week's skiing as total beginners, and had a learner's lift pass which let us on about 5 lifts in total. So not really Soll's fault that we were limited. Only a top 5 - as that's all I've been to! However, we are now booked to go to Sauze D'Oulx in January so I expect that to jump in somewhere around the 3 position from what I've heard! |
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Now officially...
0 sleeps until airport hotel 1 sleep until resort (assuming we get any sleep at airport hotel - highly unlikely) 2 sleeps until ski time! w000000t! |
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4 SLEEPS to Val D'Isere.... I am actually going to wet myself
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