15 Jul Why ACL Tears Are More Common in Female Athletes
ACL Tears
Tearing your ACL is a nightmare for any athlete, but for female athletes it poses an even greater risk. ACL tears usually happen as a result of non contact movements. These movements usually include jumping or making a lateral pivot. When athletes feel like their knee is buckling or they hear a “pop” sound, it is usually a sign that they have torn their ACL.
When it comes to ACL tears, it is 4-8 times more likely to happen to female athletes for many reasons. One reason this happens is because of the way that females land after they jump. Most females will land on straight knees after a jump. By landing on straight knee more stress is placed on the ligaments in the knee. The use and strength of the hamstring muscle in females also leads to ACL tears. Your hamstring muscle helps to prevent your tibia from moving too far forward. Females tend to have weaker hamstrings than males, and they also activate them much later in life than male athletes. The weaker hamstrings leads to a muscular imbalance between the hamstring and quadricep muscles. This imbalance increases a females risk for an ACL tear. Estrogen can also impact ligament strength which causes an ACL to be more easily torn.
It is important for females athletes to learn tips to prevent ACL tears. By changing the way you land after a jump, or by strengthening different parts of your body you can lower your risk of getting an ACL tear. When landing after a jump try to remain as quiet as possible. A soft landing means that your legs are not in “knock-kneed” position. Also when landing make sure your knees remain straight and that your chest is over your knees. It is important for female athletes to strengthen muscles that prevent your knees from buckling inwards. Exercises that can strengthen these muscles are lunges, squats, and step-ups. These exercises will strengthen your hip abductor muscles and in turn will lower your risk for an ACL tear.
As a female athlete it is important to know all about your muscles and their tendencies. Be sure to ask your coach or physical therapist about what exercises you can do to prevent a tear and strengthen your ACL.
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