Snowboarding has gained popularity in recent decades with events like the X Games, an annual extreme-sports championship. Snowboarding was also added as an Olympic Sport for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia. The sport requires its athletes to possess the physical strength and stamina to endure crashes, falls, wipeouts and the injuries that result. Tearing the anterior cruciate ligament is a great risk in snowboarding; doing so will prevent you from participating until the injury heals.
ACL Function
The anterior cruciate ligament is one of the most important structures in your leg, connecting the tibia bone to the femur bone at the middle of the knee, behind the kneecap. The ACL keeps the tibia from twisting or extending too far forward, the Southern California Orthopedic Institute explains, in effect creating stability in the legs.
Increased Risk of Injury
Activities that place great stress on the legs can put the ACL at risk for injury. Snowboarding is one such activity because of how much strain the legs take on when snowboarding -- balancing, supporting the body and controlling the board all require the use of the legs. Crashes while riding a snowboard can also produce injuries of all kinds, including to the ACL.
Complete ACL Tear
Partial ACL tears can be painful, but they sometimes heal on their own --- and you can snowboard through one the stakes are high enough. Complete tears, on the other hand, eliminate all function of the ACL, making it impossible to control how the lower legs twists and turns. Your muscles will still work because they have suffered no injury, but you will lack the structural support provided by your bones, making it impossible to support yourself down rigorous snowboarding courses.
Considerations
Although you can't snowboard without an ACL, you can use reconstructive surgery to repair or even replace the ligament. This would allow you to rehabilitate your knee and regain your ability to participate in sports like snowboarding without pain or greatly reduced physical function, sports-medicine specialist Dr. Peter J. Millett, who has performed ACL-replacement surgery on snowboarders, explains on his website.
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