Treatment of acute combined knee instabilities and subsequent sport performance.

Severe knee ligament injuries have ruined many sport careers, but this may be prevented by appropriate treatment. A short review of the treatment of combined knee instabilities is presented and illustrated by four clinical cases involving skiing racers on the Norwegian alpine and free-style World Cup teams. All of them went back to racing after surgical treatment. One improved, one regained and one partially regained their preinjury World Cup standings. The fourth racer suffered from arthrofibrosis postoperatively. She was unable to carry through a full racing season after rehabilitation due to a new injury. The mean World Cup rankings of the racers was 24 before compared with 14.6 after the injury. In conclusion, it is possible to continue ski racing at the top level even after severe knee injuries.