Lindsey Vonn will compete in the Olympics with a torn cruciate ligament.
Risky but possible, according to sports doctor Markus Waldén.
– The risk is great that you will get a meniscus injury, he says.
The cruciate ligament off – will compete in the Olympics anyway
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Comeback Lindsey Vonn crashed in Crans-Montana just a week before the Olympics and had to be flown to hospital by helicopter. Yesterday, she announced that the cruciate ligament is off – but that she will still compete in the Olympics.
– We have not discussed surgery. The Olympics are the only thing on my mind, and every day my knee is getting better. Every day we discuss with the medical team to make sure I am making smart and safe decisions. If it’s not stable, I can’t compete, but right now it’s stable, she said at a press conference.
Markus Waldén, who is chairman of the Swedish Football Doctors Association and has extensive experience in sports medicine, says that it is entirely possible to ride without a cruciate ligament.
– Nothing surprises her in a way, she has crossed thresholds before. But now it is the other knee she injured, not the one she operated on with the famous prosthesis. From what I understand, she hasn’t had any major reaction, so she hasn’t had any swelling or looseness in the musculature. If you don’t have it, it can absolutely work. She probably had a lot of connected people who knew her and looked at her pictures.
“The risk is great”
Even if it is possible, and even if it can work, it comes with great risks.
– If you crash again, you can twist your knee and do more damage. There is a high risk of a meniscus injury. Many exercisers who lack cruciate ligaments do this, but now we are talking about high speeds and a different type of skiing. At the same time, she has good control over her own body, so she knows a lot about what she can handle given her experience, says Waldén.
Waldén sees another problem with Vonn choosing to drive without a cruciate ligament.
– The problem with this, like when Zlatan pulled the cruciate ligament, is that all the exercisers then think they are Zlatan and now everyone thinks they are Lindsey Vonn. And it’s not like that. They are at an incredibly high level physically and have completely different input values.
You don’t recommend an ordinary Svensson to throw himself into a downhill slope?
– No, I don’t think so.
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