Scott Herrera:
My lift conversation with Crested Butte’s “Speed Demon”…”Who Needs an ACL?” Out of nowhere “Speed Demon” comes up from behind me and asks if we can ride up together? Sure!! We start to talking and he shares with me, in addition to owning a X-mas tree business where he goes out and cuts the trees down in the mountains himself before dragging them back to his truck, that he is also a speed skier who wants to break 120mph! That is impressive… considering he HAS NO ACL, no MCL and a tear in his lateral meniscus just to name a few medical issues! AND he’s skiing!! When his orthopedic saw his imaging for another issue (HAH)… she told him that he was a candidate for a knee replacement… his reply, “I don’t have time for that!” So he goes on to tell me how he doesn’t need an ACL to ski as long as he skis straight! You might be wondering… how does he stop? Well, as I can attest… he points his straight ski tips downhill until he needs to stop at the lift line where he makes a big hockey stop on his good side! NO joke… as I watched this myself. “Speed Demon” is a bigger guy, 200 lbs and with his active work demands, he no doubt has built quality muscle around his knee, but he did share with me that he used pilates religiously after he broke his leg and this type of analytical exercise helped him immensely so as to continue to ski. I share today’s conversation and experience that I witnessed myself, as I too have worked with clients without ACL, or other ligaments and they continue to thrive! A good exercise program helps… one with quality exercise training that builds intelligent muscle, and a physically active lifestyle and job are equally beneficial. Physicians only know what they know… very few know or care about quality exercise or training tools like proprioception. There is no doubt in mind that if I lived in Crested Butte and taught a client like “Speed Demon” the proprioception for his knee he could expand his level of skiing provided he maintained his high quality of muscle. A buddy and fellow practitioner in Montreal has done just that. He has no ACL and is very active. If you want to learn more about quality exercise training or if you are practitioner looking to add a high performance tool to your practice look into Proprioceptive Training Courses by Guy VOYER DO.