After his bitter rupture of the cruciate ligament, ski star Felix Neureuther indicated that he did not want to bury all his Olympic dreams:”I am now 33, I don’t need to fool myself: I don’t have that many chances any more,”said the German, who made his injury public via Facebook on Sunday.
“As long as there is still a little bit of hope that Olympia might actually be possible, I will try to start in Pyeongchang for as long as I can,”says Neureuther. For the time being, the 33-year-old wants to dispense with surgery and exploit all conservative treatment options.
The question of how realistic such an undertaking can be, is now answered by sports physicians and neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Eichler:”Through consistent training, i. e. muscle build-up within the framework of intensive strengthening treatment of the knee joint muscles and coordination therapy of the legs, Olympic use is possible in two and a half months – but certainly not in all disciplines.”.
Finally, however, a stress test must provide information as to whether the knee joint is resilient. Toni Schumacher, former national goalkeeper, played for years with two torn cruciate ligaments in the Bundesliga. Of course, this is not the rule and puts a lot more strain on the cartilage structures in the knee joint than under the protection of the cruciate ligaments,”said Eichler.
Eichler continues:”In general, those affected must slowly come back into contact. There is no time for high-performance athletes. However, they do have extremely well developed leg musculature, which makes a comeback faster.”