Young Females: ACL Injury Prevalence

It is well documented that female athletes experience ACL ruptures two to eight times more often than their male counterparts.

Factors that may contribute are:

• Anatomic alignment of the lower limb

• Narrow intercondylar notch

• Estrogen effects

• Playing surfaces

• Muscular imbalances

• Conditioning

Seventy percent of these injuries occur through non-contact mechanisms, such as deceleration or abrupt stops and changes of direction. The most common sports where these activities occur are soccer and basketball. Other sports include volleyball, skiing, and lacrosse.

Prevention

Though the exact cause for the higher incidence among female athletes is still open for debate, the research has shown that a neuromuscular exercise program can significantly reduce the incidence of an ACL rupture.

Our Program

Snow Sport and Spine offers a multi-dimensional program to help decrease the occurrence of non-contact ACL injuries, consisting of:

• Strength training

• Balance Proprioceptive training

• Flexibility training

• Plyometrics

• Biomechanics of jumping and landing

With proper instruction ACL prevention programs have been shown to decrease the incidence of injury by up to 75%. For an athlete, coach, and family, that means more time on the field or court, with less players injured, less complaints of pain or the costs associated with an ACL injury surgery and/or rehabilitation.

Girls who have had ACL injuries have a higher incidence of re-injury, stop playing sports earlier in life and have earlier onset of debilitating knee arthritis in adulthood. Girls who start early with a prevention program will be stronger, more agile and will have a greater opportunity for success on the playing field/court.

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