Risk factors for first-time anterior cruciate ligament injuries vary by gender, according to a recent study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine.
The researchers identified 109 high school and college athletes who experienced first-time ACL noncontact injuries. They analyzed variables — including demographic characteristics, joint laxity and personality attributes — to assess which traits were most predictive of ACL injury risk. The researchers hypothesized that different risk factors would predispose male and female athletes to first-time ACL injury.
Here's what you need to know:
1. The combined variables that predisposed male athletes to ACL injury included: increases in anterior-posterior knee laxity, posterior knee stiffness, navicular drop and a decrease in standing quadriceps angle.
2. The combined variables that predisposed female athletes to ACL injury included: having a parent who had suffered an ACL injury, increases in anterior-posterior knee laxity and body mass index.
3. Although both male and female risk models included increased anterior-posterior knee laxity, the researchers concluded that the male and female risk models were overall dissimilar.