What can I do to protect my ACL?

ACL tears are rampant, especially among our youth. Why? There are a multitude of reasons. Let me list a few-

"Sport-Specialist Syndrome"- Is your child the type of athlete who plays the same sport in multiple leagues, all year round? Your child fits the mold! I have treated many young soccer players with blossoming talent, playing in not one or two different leagues, but maybe three to four different leagues, seven days a week- school team, town team, traveling team, regional team. Whew! Parents and coaches, where's the needed rest?! In sports like soccer, volleyball, basketball, football, lacrosse, the same type of rapid cutting and pivoting can set your child's ACL up for injury over time. It's no wonder that so many kids each year end up with career-ending injuries, like ACL tears. Coming from one parent to another, your child will perform better and be much happier rotating through different sports throughout the year.

Gender? Female athletes, particularly in soccer, are eight times more likely to tear their ACL than their male counterparts. Why? It may have to do with the hip width-to-knee ratio- Females tend to have wider hips, which causes their knees to buckle inward ("knock-knees") when they bear weight abruptly. Females also use their quads and hamstrings differently during activity than males. The hamstrings provide effective dynamic assistance to the ACL during activity, and males tend to contract their hamstrings more than their quads as compared to females.

The hip hype? More and more research over the last 5 years or so has pointed to gluteal muscles having a protective effect on the knees and ankles. Why? Your booty is the largest muscle in your body. Strengthening the glutes increases shock absorption of your legs during activity and can help direct your knee to be in a better position overall as you cut and run, keeping your ACL safer and more sound!

Proprio-who? Joint proprioception is the ability of your joints to know where they are in space and particularly during movement. Many athletes simply don't know how to position their knees for protection and can set themselves up for ACL injury. By re-training your knees to move in patterns that are protective during activity, you can reduce the potential for knee injury up to four times.

As you can, there are many tools out there to help prevent ACL tears. Feel free to contact Dr. Jerry Yoo at jerry@mavenpt.com.