The Disproportionately High Number of Female ACL Tears to Male ACL Tears Exhibited During Noncontact Activity
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Authors
Benson, Daniel
Issue Date
2007
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears are detrimental injuries that plague
countless sports participants. The cost of reconstructing and rehabilitating the ACL is
approximately $17,000 per patient. In addition, there are psychological costs as well as
the potential for loss of entire seasons of sports participation, possible loss of scholarship
funding, and significantly lowered academic performance. Female athlete ACL injuries
occur with a 4- to 6-fold greater incidence compared with male athletes playing the same
landing and cutting sports. This paper specifically focuses on why females are more at
risk for ACL injuries. The greater incidence of ACL tears in females is a result of
differences in: anatomy, hormones, muscle strength, and neuromuscular training. These
factors tend to combine during activity and result in ACL injuries. The common
mechanism of injury for a noncontact ACL injury involves deceleration of the subject
with internal rotation of the femur, valgus knee positioning, and internal tibial rotation
usually on a pronated, externally rotated foot. In order to prevent this injury,
neuromuscular and plyometric training must be incorporated into female athletes'
workouts.
Description
iv, 48 p.
Citation
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License
U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder. All rights reserved.