Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries: Why women are at higher risk for ACL injuries and prevention strategies

Abstract

Every year, there are about 175,000 patients who need and ACL reconstruction surgery; among those patients, about 38,000 are high school students. Since the title IX act, there has been a steady rise in the amount of female injuries in athletics. Within the United States, 20,000 to 80,000 high school female athletes experience ACL injuries each year, most of which are from soccer and basketball (Labella et. al., 2011). Research has proven that women have a higher rate of ACL injuries than males in almost all sports, including basketball, with an average rate of 3.5 times greater for women, and soccer, with an average rate of 2.8 times greater than males (NIH Medicine Plus, 2008). Female adolescents who participate in more rigorous sports suffer ACL injuries at 4-6-fold greater rates than the male adolescents participating in the same sports (Hewett et. al., 2014). What are the underlying causes for the large difference in risk of ACL sprains and tears?