Lindsey Vonn’s decision to compete with a torn ACL is risky but ‘possible,’ experts say

Lindsey Vonn’s decision to compete in alpine skiing at the Milan Cortina Olympics, despite suffering a torn ACL, is risky but not unexpected, orthopedics and sports medicine experts said.

“It’s not unusual for any elite athlete. People will be successful with something that we normal people couldn’t do because the stakes are a little higher,” said Dr. Catherine Logan, an orthopedic surgeon at the Joint Preservation Center in Denver, Colo., who has worked with U.S. ski, snowboard and lacrosse teams.

Vonn, who came out of retirement to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic team at age 41, crashed Friday during a World Cup downhill event in Switzerland. The damage to his left knee included a complete ACL tear and bone bruising, as well as meniscal damage, Vonn said Tuesday at a news conference.

After physical therapy and on the advice of doctors, she decided to continue.

“My knee is not swollen and with the help of a knee brace I am confident I will be able to compete on Sunday,” Vonn said.

In doing so, Vonn risks causing more damage to the knee — or worse, said Dr. Yana Klein, an emergency and sports medicine specialist at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

“She could completely blow out her knee,” Klein said. “At these very high running speeds, the big risk is that the knee simply isn’t stable enough to compete. »

Klein stressed that decisions like this are complicated and made with “athlete safety as the top priority.”

Here’s what you need to know about the ACL and this type of injury:

The ACL, or anterior cruciate ligament, connects the femur, or femur, to the tibia, or tibia. A rupture is a torn ligament that typically occurs in sports that involve rapid changes of direction, such as basketball, football, and skiing.

Athletes typically hear a loud “pop” in the knee, which immediately gives way, followed by significant swelling.

A ruptured ACL along with damage to the meniscus — a piece of rubbery cartilage that acts as a shock absorber between the femur and tibia — is considered a serious injury, said Dr. Mia Hagen, a sports medicine surgeon at UW Medicine in Seattle.

It is often treated surgically within months of the injury, according to guidelines from the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. Recovery from surgery can take nine months to a year.

“Some people may return sooner, but others never return to their sport due to injury,” Hagen said.

Vonn will rely on an external knee brace — and pure physicality, Logan said.

“Skiing is possible with a torn ACL,” she said. “It really depends on our quadriceps strength, our hip strength and our neuromuscular control.”

If Vonn develops significant swelling or excess fluid in the knee joint, it could affect her power, strength and edge control, or her ability to manage the angle of the skis in relation to the snow, Logan said. But if it is able to control these factors, it could still be competitive.

“For an elite alpine skier like Lindsey, it is always possible to compete in an Olympic event,” she said.

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