The ACL Blues: Mens vs. Womens injuries

Back to reality with school tomorrow....these blogs will be comin' on strong don't you worry Ms. Gergely!


Great time has been spent researching the horrendous injury of the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament).  The ACL, which is one of the 4 major knee ligaments is a very common injury in all sports. My interest comes into play by looking into the differences between the ACL injury in men and women.


Basic Info
-ACL injuries most commonly occur during non-contact mechanisms (jumping, lateral pivot while running)
-Biochemical, neuromuscular control, physiological, hormonal, and anatomic mechanisms contribute to the difference between sexes.
-Women use different neuromuscular control than men, which causes women to tear their ACL more frequently than males. Women have imbalances in their knees that cause them to control their knees like ball-and-socket joints attached to loose springs.


Sports Programs
- Recently, there has been a large uprising of girls and women participating in high-risk sports
-Female athletes that are engaged in sports involving jumping or pivoting are 4 to 6 times more likely to sustain an ACL injury than male athletes.
-Women's sports participation has increased 10 times, doubling every 10 years resulting in 3-3.2 million.


Jump-landing Differences:Neuromuscular Imbalances


1.) ligament dominance- decreased control of the joint, related to the knee abduction component of the injury.


2.) quadriceps dominance- decreased hamstring strength, related to knee extended component of the injury.


3.) leg dominance- difference in strength, flexibility, and coordination. Related to the asymmetrical foot weighing component of the injury.


4.) core instability- increased trunk motion, related to the foot displaced away from the body component of the injury. 


Prevention and Treatment
- Both men and women take precautions and after-treatment to get their knee back to being in their regular physical activity. Most agree that wearing a brace doesn't help prevent the ACL injury. Instructions to strengthen the hamstring, quadriceps, and the large muscles on the back of the knee will help prevent future injury. By training the athlete for deep knee flexion jumps, it decreases the dangerous straight-legged position which results in tearing the ACL, or having the knee "give out".  Leg-to-leg strength training is necessary, along with trunk and core training techniques which help with imbalanced trunk, hip, and pelvis.

The Inside Hookups

Today I talked to the Ithaca High School trainer, Kim Bailey, since I am a frequent visitor of hers. We set up an interview time, and I will most likely be helping her out in the Spring. This will work well while I also visit the training room at Cornell University. Contrasting these two training facilities will help me answer the broad research questions of college vs. high school Athletic Training.

I continue my research everyday and will be posting some information about the Research question of the week....

.....and my meeting with Janie B (Mrs.Bryant) got moved to friday this week....

Research, research, research.....

While continuing my many hours of researching I stumbled upon this extremely interesting article. It addresses the statistics of injuries between men and women, and the kinds of injuries they attain.

http://ajph.aphapublications.org/cgi/reprint/80/12/1459.pdf

Check ittt outt!

...more research to come.....

2 Week Plan

Monday Feb. 7- WISE Class meeting
Tuesday Feb 8- Research topic specific question: Difference between Mens vs Women's sports injuries, sports specific?
Wednesday Feb 9- Meeting with mentor, Jane Bryant, give her the details of my project and my future plans
Thursday Feb 10- Contact IHS Trainer, Kim Bailey, to set up meeting for an interview or informational meeting
Friday Feb 11- Continue research started on Tuesday

Monday Feb. 14- Valentine's Day/WISE Class meeting
Tuesday Feb. 15- Read 2 articles from my bibliography, take notes
Wednesday 16- Mentor meeting
Thursday 17- E-mail physical therapist Brian Lee, for interview session
Friday 18- Researching a new question: Difference between college and high school injuries?

First Post!....My Project

My project interest started last year, when I was lucky enough to shadow at the Cornell University Athletic Training room, for two sports teams. By having this experience, I wanted to explore more into the profession of Athletic Training. Along with being a dedicated athlete, having injuries propelled me to research more about the difference and similarities between injuries. My main goal is to discover the answers to many of my research questions, and have as many hands-on experiences as I can. These experiences include visiting different sports medicine facilities, and comparing professions within the large field. A large part of my project will be spent learning how to develop rehabilitation plans for athletes. This is one of the most important skills to have as an Athletic Trainer, and a large interest of mine. More specifically with Athletic Training, I want to focus on the difference between high school and college Athletic Training, and the injuries that come along with it. With great references around Ithaca, large amounts of my time will be spent in various facilities, sports practices and games, and interviewing topic specific professionals.


I'm extremely excited to get started!