‘I was Crushed:’ A Ski Injury Flips Physical Therapist’s Role from Professor to Patient

Dr. Gina Powers turns to one of her former students to guide her recovery after a sudden ACL tear on the slopes.

It was like a rubber band snapping in her knee—a little “ping,” then warmth.

“I knew something was wrong,” said Dr. Gina Powers, recalling the icy January day she fell skiing at Wachusett Mountain. “I cut a hard turn trying to manage the ice, and the edge of my downhill ski got caught.”

A few days later, Dr. Powers’ suspicions and fears were confirmed: she tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during that fall.

“I’ve been a skier since I was 6 years old,” she said. “I’m very confident and have only been worried about my ACL one other time. This was a fluke.”

Powers, PT, DPT, DHSc, OCS, an Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS), is now the patient after having ACL reconstruction surgery. One of her former students is leading her recovery.

Erin Hannon, PT, DPT ’21, LSVT, is an MCPHS alum and one of Dr. Powers’ colleagues at Baystate Physical Therapy in Sterling.

“When I learned how serious Gina’s injury was, I felt really bummed for her, especially because it was just the beginning of ski season,” Dr. Hannon said. “Pretty quickly, though, our entire clinic rallied around her to do what we could to help.”

‘This is Too Icy’

Skiing is a staple of winter for the Powers family. They hit the slopes twice a week for most of the season. Mountains in New England are notoriously icy, but Dr. Powers remembers especially slick conditions on the Monday evening of her injury, as her family headed down the toughest black diamond trail at Wachusett.

“I prefer to ski on ice and hard pack conditions, but I said to myself as we were going down, ‘This is too icy. I won’t want to do this again.’ I didn’t survive that run.”

Dr. Powers carefully navigated the tough terrain as her husband and daughter skied ahead.

“I was on a very icy, very steep slope,” she remembered. “Suddenly, I found myself sitting behind my right ski boot, which was still attached to my ski.”

Because of the ice, Dr. Powers kept sliding. She collided with another skier and then dug her hands into the snow to stop. A snowboarder who saw the fall stopped, helped her out of her skis, and called ski patrol.

“My husband and daughter were just around a corner and saw ski patrol arrive,” Dr. Powers said. “They saw other skiers down and assumed I had stopped to help, which I often do. It wasn’t until I drove by them in the ski patrol sled that they realized I was the one hurt.”

From the moment she hit the snow until the torn ACL diagnosis, Dr. Powers says she was incredulous about her accident.

“You think about ACL ski injuries happening to people who go really fast or get twisted during a fall, but that was not my scenario,” she said. “I was crushed for a while. I did not want to have to do this rehab. I’ve seen many cases of it, and that has been more motivation to do what I need to do and get past it as quickly as possible.”

Putting in Work

Dr. Powers has treated many patients post-ACL reconstruction, so she knew that she had work to do even before surgery to help her recover.

“It was important to strengthen both legs, especially the quadriceps and hamstrings, before surgery,” she explained. “I was also doing self-lymphedema mobilization and massage for a week before surgery, so I wouldn’t be super swollen immediately after surgery.”

Dr. Hannon said it was one of the best things Dr. Powers did. “A lot of patients are scared of movement before surgery because they don’t want to hurt themselves more, but that can actually stiffen you up and make things feel worse.”

After reconstructive surgery in mid-March, Dr. Powers was weight-bearing almost immediately, had minimal joint pain, and, two weeks later, had stopped using crutches. She goes to Baystate twice a week for treatment with Dr. Hannon.

“She’s progressing a lot faster than my standard patient because she’s so knowledgeable and has resources outside the clinic,” Dr. Hannon said. “When she’s with me, we can focus on hands-on therapy and advancing exercises. We’re focused on strengthening and range of motion, and long-term, we’ll incorporate agility work, including running and jumping.”

Another key to success, Dr. Hannon says, is Dr. Powers’ mindset. “Our bodies take a lot of time to heal, and Gina knows that. She’s very positive, knows what she needs to do, and has a realistic long-term timeline for herself.”

“I’m a very autonomous practitioner, but I fall into the patient role very easily,” Dr. Powers said. “I’m happy to listen to Erin and follow her plan.”