Anterior Cruciate Ligament or ACL tears are one of the most treated orthopedic injuries. Although these injuries are seen in both women and men, women are most often the ones who fall prey to this painful injury.
The reasoning for this increased frequency of injury comes down to basic anatomy. Women are born with a wider pelvis; their hips are more flexible and have more rotation; their femur is tilted forward and is more angled towards the knee; they have less developed thigh muscles, making the knee more dependent on the ligaments for stability; they have more flexibility in their joints; and they have a narrower notch where the femur is attached to the ACL. For these genetic reasons, women are at higher risk for ACL tears when they perform landing, cutting, or pivoting movements.
In the past, many training techniques used to prevent ACL injuries focused on training athletes on proper landing, cutting, and pivoting techniques. However, research has shown that this type of training has had little effect on minimizing injury.
In The Journal of Strength and Conditioning an article on current research found that hip strengthening can help prevent women from ACL injury. The paper states that hip strengthening will improve the alignment of female athletes’ knees during sports, and will also help them when unexpected landing, cutting, and pivoting is necessary. This means that no matter what situation athletes may find themselves in, if they have stronger hips they will be more protected form ACL injury.
This research along with many other recent studies shows that there is a successful way to prevent ACL tears. This type of injury can be devastating to an athlete in the current moment, and can also change their orthopedic health for life; putting them at higher risk for arthritis. So, if you are a parent, coach, or female athlete, make sure to focus on hip strengthening for female athletes at a high risk for ACL injuries.
References
Malloy, Philip J.; Morgan, Alexander M.; Meinerz, Carolyn M.; Geiser, Christopher F.; Kipp, Kristof. 2016. Hip External Rotator Strength Is Associated With Better Dynamic Control of the Lower Extremity During Landing Tasks. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 30 (1): 282–291
