ACL injuries

ACL demons on rampage in Pac-10

By: Michelle Smith, San Francisco Chronicle

Five Pac-10 point guards. Five season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injuries.

Are we done yet? Not likely. Have we had enough? Absolutely.

There is no cure in sight for the ACL plague in the women's game. The three little letters churn the stomach as seasons are ended swiftly, randomly and cruelly. The three little letters are synonymous with disappointment and devastation; they can derail a season's worth of hope for a team. (More ...)

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Women and ACL Injuries

By: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

For more than a decade, researchers have debated various reasons why anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are occurring more often in women than men, ranging from anatomical to hormonal differences in the genders.

Recent studies show that female athletes participating in certain sports like soccer or basketball are three- to four-times more likely to injure their ACL than males. A majority of these injuries are occurring in women between the ages 15 and 25, it was reported at the meeting. (More ...)

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Preventing ACL Injuries in Women

By: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

In general, musculoskeletal injuries are sports-specific rather than gender specific. Injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), for example, occur frequently in soccer, basketball, and volleyball. However, data collected since 1995 suggest that ACL injury patterns are different in men and women who participate in the same sport. The incidence of ACL injuries among women basketball players is twice that for men, and female soccer players are four times more likely to suffer an ACL tear than their male counterparts. Both women and men incur ACL injuries in non-contact situations. Nearly 60 percent of ACL injuries in female basketball players occur when landing from a jump. (More ...)