MCL question

So I had a grade two mcl tear last April...locked toe on dynafit...shrub, bad idea. Wore a leg brace for six week, post injury. I did a little PT this fall. Fished all summer in fast moving rivers...was able to wade fine, though somewhat apprehensive. This was the first time in 30 years of skiing I've had a leg injury.

My question - my knee generally feels totally fine, though I'm conscious of it. I went skiing on Sunday...clicked into bindings to skate on the flats...could feel it. Actual skiing felt totally fine, though I was somewhat apprehensive. Two days later, feel a very slight amount of discomfort in the mcl on the injured knee...very slight. Have folks had similar experiences? Is it ok that I'm skiing? Anything I should do or should avoid (obvious, not locking toes on dynafits and skiing into a shrub). Seems like any awfully long time to have symptoms, based upon what you read on some websites. Thank you, and sorry if this is a silly question.

I had a stage 1 MCL, the PT recommended 6 weeks off which I did

Then I was showing around some bloggers and I hit it pretty hard

The knee hurt every night so I dealt with it using IBU

the knee ended up fine but I blew up a RAD1 heel piece

the knee has been fine ever since

edit: Rad 1's still suck

When I did that (quite a while ago) I had a similar experience with intermittent recurring pain (more like twinges than actual pain) that lasted for a few seasons. The knee has been fine for a few years now.

yeah small twinges, I still get them sometimes but the knee seems strong & fine in general

I did the MCL in mid december so I resumed skiing in feb and probably put 50-60 days more on the the knee which kept going fine with less IBU's

I am not sure if it has anything to do with the MCL but lately I have noticed a tight hamstring on that leg which I am not too sure about, fortunately the hamstring is easy to massage myself

so first off, I'd ask an ortho or physical therapist this question rather than the internet. But I will say, based on how much pain i'm still experiencing from a PCL tear that happened 3 months ago, it wouldn't surprise me that you're having some discomfort from skiing.

My experience with multiple MCL injuries is that pushing through some pain speeds recovery. No doubt it is also possible to push things too far. Good luck.

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Suffered through this in 2008 for a whole season.
Still susceptible to agravating it now with bad technique.
I changed my routine to not stress it out.
When I do I back off immediately, R.I.C.E. it.

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Originally Posted by I've seen black diamonds!

My experience with multiple MCL injuries is that pushing through some pain speeds recovery. No doubt it is also possible to push things too far. Good luck.

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Same experience when I ruptured mine in Sept. 6yrs ago. Non-displaced fracture in my femur required I stay off of it completely for 8 weeks but was sliding in the beginning of Dec although very cautiously for the first month+ due to decreased strength. Put in 35-40 days that season (while doing a lot of strengthening exercises and stretching) with no real issues other than slight pain but my knee has never really felt the same since due to scar tissue. Do the PT exercises every day and stretch a bunch would be my .02 and you will be fine.

Sprained my MCL yesterday. Guessing it’s grade 1, extensive icing has already reduced swelling somewhat. Moderate pain today if I get my knee around 90 degrees eg sitting on the edge of sofa but no pain if I’m standing and slowly move into the 90 degree tele position. Good to know that working through the ROM despite pain will help speed healing.

Ice and motion is the lotion.

Yeah, I did that two seasons ago. Ice, compression and a hinged knee brace with normal activity and it was fine


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I seem to remember being told to take 6 weeks off for a grade 1 MCL

the end of that 6 weeks Lee Lau came to town and I got tagged to show him around

alot of beer & IBU to get thru it and that week hurt like mofo

Check out Shiffrin’s and Steph Curry’s MCL repair workouts and rehab on YouTube etc.

I did a grade 2 to my MCL as part of my general knee fuckery last season, and it fully healed in the 2 months between my injury and my surgery. Seems like the standard ACL prehab routine (plus icing) is usually enough for anything less than a full tear

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Originally Posted by frorider

...90 degree tele position.

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half a binding, half a brain!

grade 2 - two seasons ago, sat out most of the season, but after a couple weeks did fine biking in place and classic skiing, couldn't skate ski. don't really think about it anymore. keep moving in ways that don't hurt

Hurt my knee a month ago. It is medial, but maybe more in the meniscus/patellar reticulum area than the MCL? Full range of motion, pain to the touch, pain bearing weight during motion (stairs and shallow squats) and a new little click.

Seeing Ortho Monday, finally some soft snow this weekend…

Update—although the MCL area was swollen and bruised for the first few days, I had no instability issues at all. Couldn’t walk normally for 3 days. While there was no pain in most weighted positions, if I sat on a high platform abd raised the lower leg from 90 to 0 degrees, had pain. Did a mellow corn tour on Day 5, mellow mtn biking day 6-9 which felt really good for the knee, and I think I’ll be able to resort ski next week when we get some pow.

It sounds like you^^^ are on the mend.

My physiatrists has diagnosed mcl injury for me from last weekend. Minimal swelling and pain. No full ROM yet. Compression sock only. Some discomfort on a stationary bike with no resistance because of ROM issues. Stability issues/pain with certain movements/twists. Was told to stop RICE, and to compress and use heat. Referral for PT. Walked a bit yesterday on unstable ground w/o problems, but being careful/focused on how I move. Glad to have strong legs.

Appreciate the referral to the mcl videos.