INTRODUCTION Each year, approximately a quarter of a million physically active young people experience an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, and seventy percent of these ACL injuries will be sustained while engaging in non-contact activities such as sudden deceleration while landing (Begalle et al., 2012). This type of injury is grossly detrimental not only on the occasion in which it occurs but also for the subsequent years to come. The majority of individuals who injure their ACL also go on to either, re-injure that same ACL, or injure the opposite knee. Furthermore, our bodies are put in tremendously vulnerable planes of motion during sporting events, especially during activities such as, basketball, football, or soccer. In this day …show more content…
Studies have also shown that women in particular, unfortunately have a disadvantage in life when compared to male counterparts, and that is one pertaining to their higher risk for ACL injury. Due to a neuromuscular imbalance that is concomitant with overactive quadriceps strength compared to hamstring strength, females tend to place more stress on the ACL. Accordingly, this increases the pressure on the ACL leading to a higher prevalence of injury that will arise more on the female spectrum than that of the male (Myer et al., 2009). Furthermore, this is important to be aware of for female athletes and for the Physical Therapists who treat them in efforts to provide educational information regarding the relationship of stronger hamstrings correlating to a lesser chance of ACL injury. Personally, I have worked with athletic females in the past as a personal trainer and while I was not strengthening hamstrings with the direct objective to prevent an ACL injury, I was cognizant of the notion that a balanced quadriceps and hamstring ratio was necessary to avoid lower extremity injuries as a
Ever since I can remember, I have been playing sports. I played a sport each season and excelled in each sport I played, most likely due to a high level of coordination at a young age. Playing hockey and squash in the winter before middle school, soccer and football in the fall, and the best season of all due to the range of such high level sports, spring, in which I played baseball, lacrosse, and tennis. I knew that I had the most skill in baseball, tennis, and hockey. One day, the day of a little league baseball game, I was sick and been throwing up the night before, my coach told me I did not have to play. The decision was in
With an ever increasing number of people becoming involved with athletic activities, there is an increasing number of injuries occurring which can be devastating for the individual. Most of the injuries that affect athletes occur in one of four structures in the human body: bones, muscles, tendons, or ligaments. Because ligaments attach bone to bone and play a major part in providing stability for joints, the major stabilizing ligament in the knee, the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), assists in performing everyday actions of the human body including sitting, standing, walking, running, dancing, and participating in other sports. The injury that specifically affects this ligament is very serious and always
Several recent studies demonstrate that the rate of ACL injuries among women can be significantly reduced by following proper neuromuscular training (NMT) and conditioning programs.
Grade 1 ACL sprain is the slightest extreme of all the ACL sprains the muscle is harmed yet just a bit. It has been marginally extended, however the ACL is still ready to keep the knee stable and can work without a support. Grade 2 ACL sprain is the point at which the muscle is extended to the point where it turns out to be free. This is alluded to as a fractional tear of the ligament. Grade 3 ACL sprains is a finished tear of the ACL and is the most serious of the considerable number of sprains. The muscle has been part into two pieces and the knee joint is not ready to work without a support. Incomplete tears of the foremost cruciate ligament are not regular most ACL wounds are finished or practically finish tears. (American Foundation of Orthopedic Specialists)
Female athletes can protect themselves through many stretches and prevention programs provided by their coaches, parents and Athletic Trainers. Many ACL tears can be protected by warm- up or cool-down programs or stretching (Ritter). The solution to preventing some of the ACL injuries is a strength and flexibility programs to strengthen the hamstrings, quadriceps and the core while stabilizing the knee (Busse). Working on the athlete’s techniques such as running, jumping and landing techniques can vastly improve their chances of ACL strength and would help prevent against tears (Malamut). Using an ACL prevention program teaches athletes how to align their hips for correct form and how to jump correctly without pain and without being knock-knee.
Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are the most common of knee injuries especially occurring during sports related activity. These types of injuries may lead to short-term disability and as well as possible long-term complications. It is estimated that 80,000 to 100,000 ACL reconstructions are performed every year and a significant percentage of those surgeries are performed on female athletes. Female athletes experience ACL injuries about two or three times more often than men due to how the female body matures and her strength, or lack thereof. Because of the wear on a healthy ACL, the ACL might not last an entire athletic career especially in women. Some of the risk factors are unavoidable, such as hormone changes and gender, but the neuromuscular and biomechanical factors are controllable. If a female athlete can be properly strength trained and takes the necessary precautions, like stretching for flexibility and core training for muscle control and balance, she can greatly reduce the risk of injuring her ACL. If she does not take the necessary precautions and does tear her ACL, surgery is required to replace the torn ACL and rehabilitation of that ligament is necessary before returning to sports (Hewett et al., 2012; Siegel et al., 2012). Despite the advances in surgery, the long-term
Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries comprise some of the highest incidents in athletic injuries, comprising up to a total of 3-5% (1) with nearly 70% coming from non-contact mechanisms. (2,3) Moreover, these injuries can lead to loss of time on the field in around 88% of the time (1). There is a substantial difference in gender as well, with female athletes being of higher risk to sustain an ACL injury. (4, 5, 6) Overall, ACL injuries can lead to early sport terminaton in athletes as well as serious disabilities in the non-athletic population (7).(Siegel’s anatomy, physiology, and pathol….(29))
Injury of the ACL is now the most common ligamentous injury of the knee and accounts for about 30 injuries per 100,000 of the population (Irrgang, 1996). Over time it became apparent that multiple variables act in combination to influence ACL injury risk(Wojtys, 2003). Risk
In the final analysis, ACL tears are more commonly found in females because of the anatomical structure of women, improper body mechanics, and the differences in female’s circulating hormones. The human female structure has many differences to the male structure, such as muscle stiffness, stronger quadriceps than hamstrings, a wider pelvis bone, and smaller intercondylar notches. These differences in male and female structure can lead to why ACL tears are more frequent in females. Another reason as to why females are more prone to knee ligament tears is because of of the improper body mechanics performed by women. During sports, contact or noncontact studies show that women perform cutting movements that are more erect rather than a crouched
Our study proposes to examine the effects of a training program on high school female soccer athletes in regards to their risk for an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear using surrogate markers. A randomized control trial will be employed on eligible female soccer athletes that are age fourteen to eighteen taken from two different schools. We will be using a convenience sample with one school being the control group and the other being the experimental group having a total of 56 participants after accounting for attrition. A seven question screener survey was created for this experiment to help screen out possible confounders. Data will be gathered by careful measuring of the exercises performed. More specifically, weight increase, range of motion increase, and repetitions performed. A proportion test will be used to analyze the data. The purpose of this study is to determine if, at the high school level, a specialized exercise program will help decrease the chance of ACL tears through strengthening the hamstrings.
In recent years, there is an increase number in the women’s participation in different sports led to a rise in non contact ACL injuries. Team sports such as soccer, basketball, volleyball are known for require lower extremity dynamic stability for patterns of movements like cutting, jumping, accelerating-decelerating[1].80,000-2,50,000 ACL injury occurs annually in the USA [20]. Anterior cruciate ligament injuries happen more commonly in knee joint injuries which are almost 50% of total. Along with it this injury affects even after 10 years to the chronic pain in knee and osteoarthritis [29].Female athletes who involved in different sports are 4-6 time higher than males for getting ACL injury [30, 1, 19, 20].
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a strong rope-like structure that runs through the center of the knee connecting the femur to the tibia. An ACL prevents the femur from moving anteriorly while weight bearing, helps prevent rotation of the joint and is the primary stabilizing structure of the knee and its integrity is essential for walking and any physical activities (Sports Medicine Australia, 2015). An ACL sprain or tear is one of the most common knee injuries, especially among athletes who engage in high demanding sports including football, soccer and basketball. This is the case as this type of injury is likely to occur when; turning/twisting rapidly, stopping suddenly, landing awkwardly when jumping, slowing down
External factors include when an individual’s coordination is compromised prior to landing or deceleration due to disruptions. (Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, n.d.) According to Maguire (2014), 70% of ACL injuries occur through noncontact mechanisms, such as attempting to rapidly pivot or sidestep maneuver, landing in a pothole or the ball deflecting. The remaining cases of injuries involve direct contact such as collision with another player, which is usually associated with other ligament injury. Other external factors consist of shoe-surface interface, playing surface and wearing a brace. Conversely, internal factors are comprised of differences in men and women anatomy, hormonal effects, variations in nerves and muscles, and degree of hamstring flexibility and foot pronation. (Sports Medicine Australia 2,
This essay deals with the current treatments, rehabilitation procedures and onsets following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries. Within this essay, there will be information including the causes, characteristics, and symptoms of ACL injuries. Throughout the United States, there are estimated to be 200,000 ACL injuries per year with 100,000 of those injuries being treated through ACL reconstruction (Evans, Shaginaw, & Bartolozz, 2014). With a satisfactory ACL reconstruction outcome between 75%-97%. From the 10%-15% failure rate of ACL reconstruction, the primary fault is due to technical mistakes at 70% (Samitier, Marcano, Alentorn-Geli, Cugot, Former, & Moser,
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is crucial to knee stability as its function is directly related to the anatomical morphology.9 The ACL is one of the two ligaments that interconect the femure and tibia in the intercondylar sector of the knee.4 It consists of two bundles: antromedial (AMB) and postrolatral (PLB). Both bundles originate from the postero-medial aspect of the lateral femoral condyle and run in an oblique manner to insert on the anterior region to the intercondylar tibial eminence.17 The ACL is comprised of multiple collagen fascicles, mainly type I collagen, surrounded by connective tissue and covered by the synovial membrane.17 The average width of the ACL is 11mm and the mean length of the AMB is 33mm, while it is 18mm for the PLB.14