Lindsey Vonn Case – Why Did She Not Need Surgery with a Completely Torn ACL?
For those of you who have recently been tuning into the Winter Olympics, you probably heard that before they started, Lindsey Vonn completely tore her ACL but still planned on competing. She later crashed again, breaking her tibia, but let’s look deeper into why she did not undergo surgery for her torn ACL at that time.
When it comes to the question of whether someone needs surgery for their ACL rupture, we can split patients into two categories: copers versus non-copers.
Non-Coper
A non-coper is a patient who has torn their ACL and demonstrates significant swelling, instability, pain, and buckling during daily activities. These patients typically require surgery to return to high levels of functional ability and activity.
Coper
A coper is a patient who can successfully return to a high level of activity with a torn ACL without surgical intervention. They usually have a large amount of functional strength, little to no episodes of instability or joint laxity, and minimal swelling post-injury.
The four areas we use to determine if someone is a coper are:
- Timed hop test: Greater than 80% symmetry between the injured and uninjured leg
- Knee Outcome Survey (KOS-ADLS): Score greater than 80%
- Global Rating of Function: Greater than 60%
- Episodes of the knee giving way/instability: Less than or equal to 1
This does not mean that immediately post-injury you must qualify for all of these scores. With physical therapy and strength training, a non-coper can sometimes become a coper. However, the reverse is also possible — someone who is initially classified as a coper may still require surgery later if the knee becomes unstable or if they wish to return to high-level sports.
If you would like to learn more about ACL injuries and different treatment options, schedule an appointment here, call us at 312-643-1555, or email info@dynamic-pt.com.
Dynamic Physical Therapy
https://dynamic-pt.com
220 W Huron St, Suite 2004
Chicago, IL 60654