Shawn Johnson injured skiing

[gymmouse24]

I actually found out on Twitter when she posted something about being on crutches at Disney. Poor thing. Skiing injures are nasty, as I've experienced. Anyone have any thoughts about her going to London in 2012?

Here's the article:
The Canadian Press: Olympic gold medal gymnast Shawn Johnson injures knee while skiing in Colorado

 

[gymgurl]

nothing about shawn but i agree skiing injuries are nasty! i put myself in hospital for a week with potential broken neck, potential brain damage, concussion, 2 broken bones in my left arm, bad bruising around pelvic area - all from crashing into a tree skiing! i was real smart

 

[Aussie_coach]

Well she should stick to nice safe sports like gymnastics.

 

[gymmouse24]

@gymgurl
I actually have to have surgery next week from a gym injury that was made worse from skiing. Same thing that happened to poor little Shawn. But after I got hurt I was ready to go home and get my life back to normal. She actually stayed on the trip and tried to enjoy herself.

I really would like to see in her in London, however, this injury I'm sure has set her back farther than she was. And she's still not sure if she wants to compete again. I personally think that, even though 2012 is 2 years away, many elites have been training compulsively with blinders, looking only towards what they need to do to get to the Olympic village. She's got some work to do...

 

[ChelseaMarie]

ouch ! but to be honest.. shawns chances of going to 2012 London.. are slim to none. even if she started say in the summer and started training again.. she would only have 2 years to gain all her skills back.. I don't think we will see Shawn Johnson in London 2012.

 

[NotAMom]

ACL injuries do not happen that often with an athletic person skiing within his/her skill limits. Even though accidents can plainly happen and I cannot claim skiing is a safe sport than gymnastics is, I really am curious about what all the circumstances were around the incident. Was she run into by another skier? Was she skiing beyond her ability? Was she in the bumps, in trees or in a course? etc.

 

[flippinlolly]

This is such a flashback for me! I had not heard about this until now! I ruptured my left ACL skiing three years ago when a snowboarder cut me up from behind and my ski did not release. I had the surgery and intensive rehab. I am now an elite gymnast and my knee does not give me problems. As Shawn only partially ruptured the ACL (although this is still obviously a serious injury) and has had the surgery, I would expect her to be able to return to her gymnastics ( obviously with an incredible amount of hard work). Of course I can't say it for sure because every injury is different. However, I am glad that something good came out of her injury. I read her blog post on her new website and it shows how the prospect of not being able to do gymnastics again revealed her love for the sport...hopefully we'll being seeing more of Shawn once she's recovered and has gone back into training. If you havent read her blog post I would recommend you do, it's quite inspiring (although maybe that was just for me because it hit so close to home!)

 

[NotAMom]

I ruptured my left ACL skiing three years ago when a snowboarder cut me up from behind and my ski did not release.

Ouch!!! That can do it. Really sorry to hear that you had to go through that. I hate snowboarder/snowboarding amongst the young for that reason. Again, accidents do happen, but teenage attitude and lack of skills is not a good combination. Young recreational freestyler skiers aren't too much better but at least they usually don't cause as much damage when they hit the people around them.

BTW, ski bindings aren't made to release when someone hit you straight from behind. Along that line, teenagers with twins love to bomb straight down steeps sitting on the back of the skis. They might be "bad" to their friends but it's an ACL injury waiting to happen. That is why I stress the importance of proper skills -- no different than performing a (especially a high level) gymnastics skill.

 

[gymgurl]

Knee injuries seem to occur alot but even when you are skiing within your ability you can still screw it up and fall. its like in gym where even if you can easily do a cartwheel on beam there will be a time when u fall for whatever reason. some skiing injuries are waiting to happen others just do its not the end of the world she will be able to do gym again so everything is awesome

 

[NotAMom]

Knee injuries seem to occur alot but even when you are skiing within your ability you can still screw it up and fall.

You're right, fall yes and knee injuries do happen no matter what. But, major knee injuries don't happen a lot when skiing within skill limit. It is probably more common to fall on your head. Just trust me on that one.

 

[gymmouse24]

Well, she's making a come back. Go Shawn! I'll be interested to see how she does, as we'll be picking up from the same place this summer. I had surgery a month ago and plan to compete in February.

 

[bribri514]

You're right, fall yes and knee injuries do happen no matter what. But, major knee injuries don't happen a lot when skiing within skill limit. It is probably more common to fall on your head. Just trust me on that one.

my cheer and gym coach would not let us ski. i snowboarded sometimes but had to not tell my gym coach. and i live in the co mountains. my mom is a ski instructor here and says that knee injuries are soooooo common in skiing even if you're skiing in your ability. just my experience!

 

[gymgurl]

my cheer and gym coach would not let us ski. i snowboarded sometimes but had to not tell my gym coach. and i live in the co mountains. my mom is a ski instructor here and says that knee injuries are soooooo common in skiing even if you're skiing in your ability. just my experience!

NotAMom i'm sorry to disagree but i know several people who have had major injuries skiing perfectly in their ski limit. The other thing to consider is that if you are racing and have your boots really tight, binding super tight it can take a minor stack to completely snap your ACL. Trust me on this one i have been skiing since i was three and i would say that skiing is more dangerous than gymnastics mainly because you are not only at the risk of yourself, you are at the risk of others (the amount of snowboarders i have seen collide into skiiers is ridiculous)

Bri is definitely right on this one!

 

[katemoss1]

I agree with bribri514 and her mom I know 2 people who needed knee surgery because they got ingured skiing and they've been skiing since they were really small. Shawn said herself that she's a really bad skier.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Whatever the case, she's back to training.

 

[NotAMom]

Hi guys, please note that I said skill limit not ski limit although the former does imply the latter in general but not necessarily the opposite. Also, I didn't state knee injuries don't occur. It's just that more often than not they are preventable (versus not really the case with concussions). Knee injuries (ACL particularly) tends to happen when one falls abruptly dropping behind and between his/her knees. That doesn't happen often when a skier can naturally stay in front or centered. Our bodies tell us to freeze up and drop in the backseat when we are skiing out of our comfort zone. Unfortunately, most novice and recreational skiers (especially those who wing it without formal lessons) do this even in more moderate conditions. And, when they go on something that they aren't ready for (due to peer pressure or whatever), watch out.

You see what I mean by skiing within skill limit now. That is also one of the reasons why I'm a strong advocate of proper instructions (same for gymnastics coaching).

Just so that you don't think that I'm blowing smoke and I speak also from experience... (please allow me to say this just one last time GT) I am not a strong skier (just merely advanced) but I do it several times a week during the season and I was a ski instructors several years ago. In addition, both of my girls are USSA Junior alpine racers who's been skiing since they were 4-5 (yes, any age before that is just playing and is too young in that sport). They are also free-skiers at the expert level in any terrain and condition.

And, gymgurl, I totally agree about the part in injuring others and snowboarding/skier accidents. Snowboarding in itself is more dangerous because of the common wrist fractures themselves. But, is gymnastics less dangerous than skiing (just injuries in general)? Judging from the competitive gymnasts and skiers that I'm surrounded with, I'm not so sure if I agree with that one.

 

[bribri514]

hey, first i want to apologize for bringing up this old topic. i just saw skiing in a gymnastics community and couldn't resist posting. my mom had me start skiing when i was 3 but i didn't really like it that much. from what i've seen is a lot of ski injuries also occur from losing control of your legs (ex. when a snowplow ends up... well i'm sure you've seen how badly that can end up for some people! i remember snowboarding down a green road one day and came across a skiier who had just fallen going very slowly and managed to twist her leg all the way around and didn't know you should take your boot out of your bindings right away, eek!) my dad was also a ski patroler before he passed away and he had torn his acl a couple times (mostly doing back country stuff)

but that's great experience notamom. i went to a high school with a half day program just for ski racers and was surrounded by them all the time. i think i saw more injuries with them than i did with gymnastics. though it's hard to compare. i think gymnastics injuries come from repetition, too much stress on young bodies, etc. as opposed to skiers who sometimes completely just destroy themselves (like how bode keeps wiping out at the beaver creek world cup downhill course ahhh!!) but like i said that could be way too much of a generalization.

 

[LizzieLac]

For what it is worth, I tore my ACL and strained my MCL playing soccer with children!!! And I am a fairly athletic person - ran track and played tennis in high school and ran in college. So accidents can happen to anyone if the circumstances are right.

I am over my embarrassment about how I tore it, by the way.

 

[gymnut1]

Bode is one of my heros. Gotta love a bad boy.

 

[bribri514]

Bode is one of my heros. Gotta love a bad boy.

ohmygosh i love bode! he is so cute in that really bad boy way. i helped my mom volunteer at the world cup races as a kid and met him once. squee!!