
How I Blew Out My Knee and Came Back to Win a National Championship - jasonshen
http://www.jasonshen.com/2011/blew-out-knee-win-national-championship
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Alex3917
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...](http://www.npr.org/2011/01/19/133025140/for-young-athletes-
knee-surgery-opens-door-to-pain?ft=1&f=1060)

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

sports are fun.

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

I went back and forth on quoting my experience with training and injury above
and didn't, but maybe it's worth saying - breaking a few bones in my right
hand ended my fencing career, I was broke a tooth training in Krav Maga, and
tore some cartilage doing squats with slightly bad form in the gym.

I'd have preferred not to have had those injuries, but I wouldn't give up the
lessons I got from my training to not have them, even though all three are a
minor annoyance on a semi-regular basis.

Tangential note - I'd recommend epee fencing to anyone here. It's a lot like
playing Chess with your body, incredibly cerebral and conducive to excellent
thought and flow.

I've never been as locked in as when I came back from down a few touches to
tie it up at 4-4 or 14-14... you know that last touch is everything, and your
opponent starts thinking "oh no, I could lose this when I was up so much" - in
epee fencing, if you have a lead you almost always win, because a draw
benefits the leading player and draws are easy to get if going for them - when
you come back from a deficit, meaning you're scoring touches and avoiding them
getting even a single draw, that final touch you get so locked in, and then
winning after being down... nothing else compares. I shiver just thinking
about about battling back to even, winner-takes-all... nothing else compares.

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mrtron
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.

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barry-cotter
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.

------
Bystander
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
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.

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oostevo
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
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.

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

