ACL tears are becoming more and more common among athletes, sidelining many athletes for the rest of their seasons or sporting careers.
The chances of having an ACL tear are increasing substantially; strength is crucial for preventing injuries.
According to Mayo Clinic, ACL stands for anterior cruciate ligament and is one of the key ligaments that stabilize the knee. It connects from the thigh bone, which is also known as the femur, and goes down to the shin bone, also known as the tibia.
It helps control the movement of the tibia and side-to-side rotations. The ACL is most vulnerable when there are sudden stops in direction, cutting, jumping/landing, twisting, or direct collisions. This results in many sports putting athletes at risk daily through the required skills.
According to Northwestern Medicine, women are two to eight times more likely than male athletes to suffer from an ACL tear. This is due to reasons like hormones, neuromuscular control, and biomechanics.
The risk differs between sports, some popular ones being soccer, basketball and football. Not only is it important to strength train for the battles put on the body, but also to prevent injury.
“Athletes are now specializing way too soon in their sports because of pressure, which means they are playing one sport, continuous repetitive movement patterns, and overloading the same joints and tissues, causing strength imbalances,” Wiefit-certified personal trainer Grady Cramer said.
With these tournaments and advancing club teams for athletes, it means that these athletes are playing way too many games over one weekend.
“Additionally, games and tournaments are extremely overwhelming. Travel teams playing ten games one weekend and then doing the same thing the following week, it is too much,” Cramer said.
Since sports are evolving, the athletes evolve with it, but without properly preparing their entire bodies for competing at higher levels.
“Athletes are becoming faster, stronger and heavier than ever much sooner, but not becoming more stable. I like to say that the engine got better, but the brakes and suspension didn’t,” Cramer said.
Athletes with proper strength training are said to reduce their risk by up to 50%. Athletes must focus on correct nutrition in addition to proper training.
“The correct strength training is key to helping and preventing injuries. ISO/small muscle group exercises – proper bracing/landing techniques, proper strength programs and nutrition/recovery/hydration. These all play a very KEY role in helping an athlete stay healthy long term,” Wiefit certified personal trainer Gregory Woodard said.
Muscle strength is a large contributor to protecting the knee and preventing ACL injuries. Muscles around the thigh and hips help control the movement of the knee during high-impact activities.
Strength in muscles also benefits joint alignment and control. This limits the amount of pressure and stress applied to the ACL, lowering the risk of injury.
Specific things to focus on include squats, lunges, hamstring curls, deadlifts, plyometric drills and core strengthening exercises.
“A lot of people, specifically women, are afraid to get in the gym because of the fear of ‘getting too big, but women are the majority of athletes who suffer ACL injuries. But if you focus on the right muscles and really apply yourself to strengthening the muscles around your legs so that when you cut, there is extra strength around your legs to stabilize it,” varsity soccer coach Kelsey Etherton said.
Many high school athletes have suffered from tearing their ACLs. To be more specific, about 6 athletes at Highlands High School in the past year have torn their ACL or something else in their knee. Preventing this number and reducing it in the future is a huge deal for the future success of Highlands and other schools.
“I believe more coaches need proper training on strength/conditioning within their respective sport. Since we can’t avoid or prevent injuries for the most part, having more knowledge on how to train an athlete (on the field, off the field, nutrition, recovery, signs of overtraining, etc) is very, very important. Monthly or yearly clinics should be offered (mandatory) for coaches on the varsity level,” Woodard said.
Not only coaches, but schools can also help to protect athletes.
“Schools need to invest more in their strength and conditioning programs. Hire more coaches, set up times for each and every sport to participate. This is the best shot at ‘preventing’ possible injuries for high school athletes,” Woodard said.
Making sure that injury prevention is a community-wide effort will not only reduce injuries across all sports, but also make sure that athletes feel appreciated and cared for by their school.
ACL and other injuries can significantly damage an athlete physically and mentally, and these young athletes must get the proper nutrition and training that they need to succeed.
