When the music's over -- Malaga

[Man O' War]

I'm on malaga's mailing list as some of you are and have checked out his blog from time to time. The latest is not good for him or for kb'ing in spain, of which he's been by far the most enthusiastic proponent.

The gist of it is that his kb career is over. It wasn't lack of interest or disillusionment, because he was more hooked than ever, but the fact that he blew out his left knee. Even after a month of rest, he can't kneel on top of anything without severe pain. In desperation he's dragged out his thruster and is trying to ride standup again after a two-year layoff.

Are knee injuries always that permanent? Is there a doctor in the house?

--

Hola amigos he estado un tiempo ausente por temas laborales que no me han permitido escribir durante un tiempo, la noticia es un poco triste pero creo que es asi, dejo el Kneeboard no x falta de interes o ilucion que estoy enganchadisimo ahora, si no porque hace un mes me lessione los tendons de mi rodilla izquierda haciendome imposible apoyar esta contra el suelo o la tabla, ya que los tendones se me tensan al maximo provocandome un dolor insoportable, despues de 1 mes de reposo el dolor a poner la rodilla sobre la tabla a disminuido pero aun es intenso y me impede surfear, me paso al surf otra vez , hoy ya cogido el Thruster otra vez, y aunque despues de dos años sin ponerme de pie he perdido toda la practica, he avanzado rapido recordando viejos maniobras, aunque mal hechas, claro, espero coger el ripmo que deje dentro de unos meses, y lo del Kneeboard es una pena, es una frustacion, soy un pupas, que se le va hacer, estare por santander en julio al final el 6 o cosa asi, supongo que si me pilla cerca liencres del centro de la ciudad me gustaria ir a coger unas olas, bueno amigos, hasta luego y aloha.

[kneelingBROTHA]

Hey Mark. Sorry to say, but without surgery (and even with) knee injuries can be horrible. I would say that he is smart to stop kneeboarding, as unfortunate as that is. I have a back problem due to a car accident recently, I haven't been able to get back on my repaired kneeboard due to that.

Injuries are injuries, and if you don't let them heal (like I'm trying to do right now), they won't go away. And if they are very serious sports injuries, like blowing out a knee, you probably don't want to put yourself in the position for it to happen again--because it will! I'm been to physical therapy with hardcore runners and those guys will tell you that knee injuries can reappear in no time without proper, long-term rehab.

That being said, I hope he can get back on the kneeboard, but it isn't too likely to happen soon if he blew out his knee.

Well wishes to Malaga.

--marc bockman

[Kauaikneelo]

To our Spanish kb amigo. Please due some internet research on what skiers do to rehab. It is unreal what they can come back from to be competitive and beyond. Do not give up. If those guys can blast down a mogul run and get big air or go on the GS courses at a world class level, then you my friend too WILL fly a KB, someday soon!! Take your time do the work.
-s

[halbs]

Stick with the rehab, playing Aussie Rules football years ago I tore my anterior cruciate ligament completely which required a complete knee reconstruction. I to had a go at standup surfing because it took me approximately 12 months to be able to bend my knee enough and be able to put pressure on it. Since then I have had some aches and pains if I surf for a few days in a row but really it's all good and I show no real signs of having a rebuild. Stick with it Malaga and don't get too despondent it will all be back!!

[Smokin Rock]

Grant & Malaga,
did the same to my knee. American football though. took me 6 months to get to the point where i could bear weight. bicycle riding was my main rehab. 8 days after surgery i rode my bike ten miles. could'nt walk without the brace and crutches but could ride (no hills) pretty good. not really recommending riding your bike loaded to the gills on vicotin but i eliminated paying for rehab and cut my recovery time in half.
gotta have the knee/blue ice wrap as well. good to have two so one is always good to go.
don't give up! lots of pro athletes have had devastating knee injuries and have come back.

[SFKneelo]

Left knee: Slocum procedure in '82 to repair ACL, MCL, PCL, bone, etc. It was set with a screw through the leg, which resulted in an infection and an emergency surgery.

Right knee: partially torn ACL and MCL, but didn't have an operation. Re-hab'd out of it, and rarely have had a problem.

Surgery for the left knee surgery wasn't a question, as it was an open hinge.

It took a year to get back to knee-riding.

I had no flexion in the beginning.

Lots and lots and lots and lots of rehab later, I was able to hobble the trail to Black's and belly-board my kneeboard... which got me by.

The knee eventually was able to bend enough, but not entirely.

More recently, I thought I tore the whole repair job open. To my surprise, it was a burst in the scar tissue that actually helped me gain back a few degrees of flexion.

So....

1. Yes, you can.
2. It takes a hell of a lot of work
3. You can have fun while doing re-hab. Halbs stand-up or belly-riding a kneeboard if you don't mind some heckling!
4. Try to avoid the surgical route if at all possible
5. Hope you have good health coverage. Find the best doctors and best physical therapists.
6. It will always be a 'management' issue. I wear neoprene braces to keep things tight. Keeping muscles strong around the area is even more important for keeping things together.

Good luck!

[cs]

Left Knee: Torn ACL playing touch football, required reconstuction. I was super fit at the time. I was in the military back then and it took a few months before I was able to get into surgery. Once I was healed, but before surgery I spent my time wearing a brace, finning in a pool every day, lifting and stretching like a madman, just trashing my legs as much as I could to get them strong and limber, all under a physician's supervision. Rehab was a breeze. Well, it sucked, but not compared to what came next.

Right Ankle / Lower Leg: Communuted fracture of tib/fib, dislocated the talus from the calcanus, tibia, fibula, and navicular bones. I basically turned my foot 90 degrees clockwise, ripped everything to shreds, including vasculature. I thank my lucky stars I was with a bunch of really competent, well equipped military medics that day. Still living with this one, even though it was years ago. I was in Iceland at the time, and the surgeon in Reykjavík did a great job. I've had American Orthos look at the before/after x-rays, grin and say, "Your surgeon was World Class. Where'd you get this fixed? You could have lost your foot if it wasn't done right from beginning to end." There's nothing like being in the right place at the right time I guess. Nonetheless, as time goes on, I can feel it getting worse again. Them's the breaks I guess.

Anyways, what's the point? If I had a torn ACL again, I'd let it heal up some to the point that I could live with a brace for a while. Then, I'd get my legs as fit as possible before getting it fixed. It really seemed to help my recovery. Your mileage may vary.

My $0.02,

cs

[cs]

Oh, so the right ankle is the reason I need to get fit and OUT of wearing fins. I have huge feet and the water up here's pretty cold. So, fins just don't fit too well. I've tried Churchills and my leg just can't take the asymmetrical fins. It's a shame that my kneeboarding crutch almost puts me on real crutches whenever I get a day or two of surf. Catch-22... I can't run anymore, and biking just doesn't do it for me. I just need to get off my fat ass and in the pool where I belong, lose some of this Midwest office chair ass and get a bit of paddling strength back for those odd days when I can get some waves. It's all about inertia I guess. An object in motion tends to stay in motion....

[Malaga]

thanks to all, gracias a todos

[Mike Fernandez]

Malaga, I hope you can return to kneeboarding someday. Hopefully I will meet you when I go to Spain someday.

CS, you should checkout SCUBA fins for those feet of yours. Some fins are soft, all have big foot cavities, and you can cut down the blade length so they aren't so big. Obviously you can't surf without booties up in the cold north.

[cs]

Speaking of knee injuries....

I was out at one of the local points Friday evening, in about knee high long mushy lefts. With the weak conditions, I decided to take the longboard out. After one wave, I hopped off the board on the inside and landed funny on a boulder, torqued my left knee. I'm hoping it's just a sprain, but I have a funny feeling my MCL may be shot this time. That's what I get for hopping off the board like a kook.

No kneeboarding for me for a while I guess. At least the wave season is pretty much over here.

cs