Anterior cruciate ligament injuries are a huge concern for athletes involved in high risk sports such as women's soccer and basketball, women's gymnastics, football, etc. Studies have shown that female athletes are 4-6 times more prone to an ACL injury. Researchers have done extensive studies on ACL injury risk factors and we now know more about the injury than in the past, even though there are still things that are not clear to health care providers and sports medicine personnel. One of the possible factors that make female athletes more prone to an ACL injury is a neuromuscular deficit that female athletes demonstrate. This neuromuscular deficit is shown to be developed after puberty in females. Also, it is shown that neuromuscular training can reduce the risk of ACL injuries in female athletes. A recent meta-analysis study shows that there may be a window where the neuromuscular training to prevent ACL injuries should be done. It collected study data from the literature published in the past and showed that preventative neuromuscular training may need to be done before female athletes develop the deficit.
It may be difficult for parents and athletes to understand why. However, it is important to utilize injury prevention training/program earlier, especially if athletes are already demonstrating injury risk factors.
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