Hello, first time poster and newer skater here! I’ve been skating almost 2 years, primarily roller derby and for the life of me I cannot side surf. I’m looking for advice/guidance on either how to develop the skill or if I should give up on it given my knee issues.
I have a history of knee injuries (mcl tear, sprains) and more importantly I dislocated my left kneecap 3 times last year and would like to never do that again. When I try and side surf I don’t have the mobility on the left side to do anything beyond a quick smartie shuffle only in my good legs direction. Frog stretches cause shooting pains in both knees no matter the padding involved, and my league focuses on those or pressing your knee laterally against a wall in a pliet(?) (ple-ay) position which makes my kneecap feel like it’s going to dislocate again. I do keep up with my PT exercises and wear a patella brace but I’ve still felt the kneecap try and dislocate even with it on.
Does anyone know if there are less knee-intense stretches or workouts I can do? Or is this simply a skill that’s too risky to try and work on?