Can ACL injuries be prevented?

Can ACL injuries be prevented?

If you’re an athlete then it may not be possible to completely eliminate ACL injuries, but various training techniques can minimize the risk of tearing the ACL.

If you play soccer, basketball and volleyball, you should be especially mindful of two things: how you take hard, quick steps to accelerate in another direction (or “cut”) and how you land on your feet from a jump or a step (“plant”).

These cutting and planting maneuvers cause about 70% of all ACL injuries.

The jumping, landing and pivoting involved in these sports all stress the knee’s ACL – particularly in female athletes. Initiating a cut (or landing after a jump) can compromise the ACL’s ability to resist rotational forces. Planting incorrectly can overwhelm the ACL’s ability to move the knee the way it is designed to do.