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.