The Anterior Cruciate Ligament

Dr. Boden of the Orthopedic Center in Rockville states, “Young women are two to eight times more likely than their male counterparts to injure their ACL.” Although there are some factors that put others at a higher risk of tearing their ACL, like this gender one, ACL tears are common and can happen

Lowering this rate would allow female athletes of all levels to have a lower probability of ACL injury. Sex difference has proven that female athletes are more likely to have an ACL injury than males. Since we are unable to change our sex (intrinsic factor), the focus must then be placed on the factors that can be modified. A list of these factors include: preparation, skill acquisition (from a young age), and playing style (Ireland, 1999). The factors listed are all controllable extrinsic factors, focusing on these and the partially controllable factors could aid in the prevention of ACL injuries in

In female basketball players, neuromuscular, hormonal, and anatomical factors were considered internal factors that were the cause of non-contact ACL tears. Muscle weakness in the gluteus maximus and hamstring muscles along with poor dynamic

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

Female participation in competitive athletics has increased significantly in recent years. Compared to their male counterparts, they are at a 2 to 10 times greater risk for ACL injury (Edward et al, 2015, p. 368) There are two main mechanisms for an ACL injury: Contact, and non-contact. 70% of all reported ACL injuries are non-contact in nature, whereas the remaining 30% involve contact from an outside force such as an opposing player, a goalpost, or another object on the field or court (Silvers, 2009, p.83).

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) of the knee is arguably one of the most notorious parts of the body in the sporting industry. When torn and repaired with surgery, it can leave an athlete out of play for up to 12 months if therapy is consistent over that time period1. There are several different ways to repair the ligament in order to regain functionality and recover stability. In any case, physical therapy plays a vital role in regaining these abilities and returning a person’s knee back to normal.

Every year, just in the United States, there are about 200,000 ACL or Anterior Cruciate Ligament injuries occur. About one in every 3500 people in the united states alone has had or has an Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury. ACL injuries happen in both genders. But which gender actually has a higher chance of injuring there ACL? I believe that guys are less susceptible to these injuries; making the girls more susceptible. I think this because females were made different and function differently from males.

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

This paper will review the work of others in regarding women’s higher rate of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in comparison to men. Evidence regarding these elevated rates includes alternated motor control strategies, differences in sex hormones, differences in knee flexion angles, and core strength differences in men and women athletes. Numerous studies have produced correlating data in reference to women’s higher susceptibility to knee injury during upper level athletics. Although it seems unpreventable a couple of different preventative measures have been suggested to reduce the number of knee injuries a year. These measures include supplements and active correction training of muscle movements, also a higher degree of weight training in the athletic curriculum for women’s athletics. I have personally witnessed the benefits from some of these preventative measures and can credit at least weight training as a preventative measure. There could always be more testing to see how these injuries could be better prevented in female athletes due to the fact that our knowledge of prevention is still vague at times. ACL injuries are one of the most common injuries in female athletes and also have one of the longest recoveries time periods in comparison to other injuries.

In the sports world the word ACL brings absolute horror and cringe with it. That’s because when an ACL tears it can be one of the most painful experiences an athlete can have, especially with the surgeries and recovery it brings with it. Along with that, the ACL is in the deep part of the middle of the knee, so most of the time when you damage your ACL you most likely have damaged something else. Women especially have to worry about the overall health of their knees as they have a 4.8% greater chance of tearing their ACL than men (Musgrave). ACL tears are one of the worst injuries in the sports world and in order to recover to full health it takes time, patience, and a hard-work ethic.

This article begins with explain how even though volleyball is a non-contact sport, it holds a very high risk of injury. The most frequent way injuries occur are because of poor landing techniques. Women are more prone to these types of injuries because biologically they have weaker ligaments. The second most common injuries are injuries to the ankle. Researchers have said that the best way to reduce injuries is by practicing appropriate postural control. Postural control is also linked with balance. Balance one of the main components of knee injury. Volleyball, basketball, and other active athletes have not developed proper posture to land safely, causing many injuries to the knee and ankles.

Since the media does not emphasize the severity of female athlete injuries when the player experiences them, the athlete needs to learn post treatments to help speed up the recovery time. Learning treatments for the injuries that a female athlete incurs may also help prevent any future injuries. Thomas says, “...plyometric exercises, proprioception, agility, overall biomechanics corrective exercises.” (Thomas). When a female is injured while playing a sport to recover from the injury they should go through rigorous exercises to recover properly from the injury and to prevent any further injuries. The coaches that coach the female athletes should be informed of how to help the athlete recover from the injury and learn ways to