How I Blew Out My Knee and Came Back to Win a National Championship

http://www.jasonshen.com/2011/blew-out-knee-win-national-championship

by jasonshen • 16 years ago

33 15 16 years ago

Alex39172• 16 years ago

The thing with a torn ACL is that they can't repair the cartilage, so if you get the surgery and go back to playing sports then you have a significant chance of getting osteoarthritis within as little as ten years.[1]

Is it really worth suffering debilitating and incurable pain for the rest of your life just to be able to impress other people?

http://www.npr.org/2011/01/19/133025140/for-young-athletes-k...

lionhearted2• 16 years ago

> Is it really worth suffering debilitating and incurable pain for the rest of your life just to be able to impress other people?

If you think sports is about just impressing other people, then I'm guessing you've never played a sport at a high level.

Being able to unify your mind and body at a high level in competition... it's one of the most cerebral, peak experiences, and it shapes and develops your character henceforth forever afterwards.

Ask most competitive athletes who've been injured if they'd go back in time and not play to avoid it, and most wouldn't make that trade.

smalter• 16 years ago

i agree with you, but i don't think you have to go that far to make your case.

sports are fun.

radioactive21• 16 years ago

I agree. I am not a sports person, but I have friends that participate on a very high level in sports that no body shows up to watch. Yet they love it and wouldn't consider anything else.

It's what you love that makes what you do great. It's the same with many things, but with sports it's more apparent.

Alex39172• 16 years ago

"If you think sports is about just impressing other people, then I'm guessing you've never played a sport at a high level."

In college I was the fastest lightweight rower on the #1 ranked team in the country. I was within a couple seconds of the Olympic time standard when I found out that I had a minor lower back problem and quit the same day. The thing is, the only thing I can't do right now is row competitively, I have no day-to-day health problems. Whereas most of my friends who had similar problems and kept going are now in horrible pain just from walking around and sitting at their desks, and a bunch of them are strung out on drugs as a result.

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing I love more than getting to go out and fuck up someone else's day, but I feel like part of being an adult is learning how to do that in ways that further your actual life goals (e.g. through a startup) rather than just spending six hours a day in the gym or whatever.

"Being able to unify your mind and body at a high level in competition... it's one of the most cerebral, peak experiences, and it shapes and develops your character henceforth forever afterwards."

I agree completely. But as Alan Watts famously said, "Once you get the message, hang up the phone."

jasonshen• 16 years ago

It's definitely not a decision I'd recommend for everyone. It all depends on what your "actual life goals" are as you mentioned. For me, I knew that gymnastics was only something I could do for a short time in my youth and I wanted to go as far as possible with it. I had made the Junior National team at one point and competed in several USA Championships against all the big guys. I wanted do to whatever it took to succeed.

In terms of impressing people - that's never been a goal. I was greatly ridiculed as a kid for being a gymnast and even as it got a little more "cool" in high school and college, its got nothing on football or basketball. I did this for me - and for the coaches, teammmates and alumni at Stanford Gymnastics who were so dedicated to earning a victory.

It's the fact that we won as a team that means the most to me. I would not be nearly as proud of an individual win.

garyrichardson• 16 years ago

As someone who's had ACL reconstruction, I can tell you not getting the surgery can be worse for you long term.

Why? because without the ACL your knee is not as stable. You're more likely to do more damage to the cartilage with an unstable knee. While I was waiting for my surgery (in Canada, took about 6 months), my knee was highly unstable and lead to multiple close calls.

Of course, you need to make the surgery decision on a case by case basis. My knee was injured in such a way that I didn't suffer a large amount of meniscus damage, but definitely had the potential to wreck it if I didn't get the surgery.

barry-cotter• 16 years ago

This is part 1 of 2. 2, the "Comes Back to Win a National Championship" isn't going up until next week.

The only things I got out of it were that gymnastics is just as viciously brutal on ones body as ballet or sports like American Football, and the knowledge that mens' gymnastics is dying a lingering death in the USA.

mrtron• 16 years ago

I used to compete in gymnastics - it really is a grueling sport. My wrists are ruined from the pommel horse.

Congrats on the comeback, serious injuries are a huge mental and physical drain.

gammarator• 16 years ago

I was a spectator at that meet--it was truly frightening to see. Glad Jason is doing well and sharing his story.

oostevo• 16 years ago

Along the lines of blown out knees in gymnastics is the incredibly inspiring story of Shun Fujimoto, who injured himself during a gymnastics routine in the Olympics, and then kept competing.[1] Per the Wikipedia article on the guy, "One doctor stated: 'How he managed to do somersaults and twists and land without collapsing in screams is beyond my comprehension.'"[2]

Watching that video and reading his story quickly put an end to my complaints of "but I need a nice ergonomic keyboard to be able to work at all!"

[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq-C5-vIim8 [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shun_Fujimoto

eeperson• 16 years ago

The line at end of the Wikipedia article puts an interesting spin on this story:

  Later, when asked whether he would do what he did again, 
  he replied frankly, "No, I would not."

This makes me see it as more a cautionary tale than inspiring. Although it is still amazing.

Bystander• 16 years ago

I have five daughters in competitive Gymnastics - they've all been in Gymnastics since around 2-3 years of age(oldest is now 15). I see their 'peers' in the neighborhood and there's no comparing physical fitness between them. It's been great for all of them - there have been injuries, but nothing that bad, so far.

Injuries happen - either get over it and go on, or curl up in a ball and put a cocoon around yourself. This guy had great intestinal fortitude coming back to the sport after those injuries - I commend him.

bhoung• 16 years ago

I dunno why but this reminds me of trainspotting. But choose life, right. One could avoid any risk of injury through non-participation but it's a deceptive opt out.

How I Blew Out My Knee and Came Back to Win a National Championship

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