ACL Injury More Severe in Snow Skiers

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Joanne Swanson
Lisa Doty, [email protected]
Cindy Oertel, 847 384-4139

Study reports ACL injury more severe in snow skiers

ORLANDO, Fla.--A new study shows that the majority of skiers' anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears are accompanied by meniscal injury or other knee damage.

This is even more likely if the skier is over age 40, according to study co-author Mark Rekant, MD, who presented these findings here today at the 67th annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Dr. Rekant and colleagues at the NYU-Hospital for Joint Diseases found 63 percent of 91 patients who sustained a complete ACL tear while skiing also tore their meniscus. "Among people over 40, 94 percent sustained a meniscal tear," said Dr. Rekant, who is completing an orthopaedic surgery fellowship at NYU-Hospital for Joint Diseases. The meniscus is the cartilage cushion between the upper and lower leg.

More than 660,000 ACL injuries occur in the U.S. each year; 70 percent as a result of sports activity, such as football, basketball or skiing.

The ACL, one of the tissues that connects the upper leg to the lower leg, provides stability to the front of the knee joint, keeping the lower leg from sliding too far forward.

Overall, 34 percent of skiers (31 patients) had additional intra-articular (osteochondral) changes in the knee. Patients in Dr. Rekant's study ranged in age from 16 years to 54 years (mean: 31.6 years). None were professional skiers, nor had any history of prior knee injury.

"ACL tears caused by skiing accidents should not be dismissed as simple injuries because of the high probability of additional knee damage," said Dr. Rekant. "We found 71 meniscal tears in 57 skiers. "These tears were not documented until the patient was already undergoing arthroscopic-assisted ACL reconstruction," he said.

"Patients should be more attentive to their bodies and more concerned about a knee injury they sustain from skiing.

"In contrast to traditional thought, the "isolated" ACL injury occurs less frequently in skiing," said Dr. Rekant. "Results of the study shows that a more aggressive treatment or surgical approach is necessary to repair ski injuries to the knees."

From the NYU-Hospital for Joint Diseases Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, co-authors of the study with Dr. Rekant are Orin Sherman, MD, chief of sports medicine, Steven Stecker, MD, former chief resident, and John Bonamo, MD, retired.

In the first year of the United Nations-declared Bone and Joint Decade (2000-2010) (http://www.boneandjointdecade.org), the Academy is holding its annual meeting at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, March 15-19.

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