ATLANTA (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- If you follow pro sports, you know that
a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the most common injuries
in the NBA and the NFL. Now, there are as many as a quarter of a million new
ACL injuries every year in non-professional athletes, and more and more of
those injured are kids. Young girls are at the highest risk.
Fifteen-year-old Tori Andrews tore her ACL playing soccer.
"When I went to turn the top part of my knee, the top part of my leg and the
bottom part of my leg did not feel connected," Andrews recalls. "So that's
when I knew something was wrong."
Doctors say sports that involve sudden jumps and quick turns put stress on
the ligament that works to stabilize the knee.
"For every male that tears an ACL, there's going to be five to eight females
of the same age that tear their ACLs," David L. Marshall, M.D., the medical
director for the Sports Medicine Program at Children's Healthcare of
Atlanta, told Ivanhoe.
Researchers believe higher levels of estrogen make girls' ligaments more
flexible than boys and more likely to tear. Wider hips also add to the
problem.
"If you watch a girl land, when they land or they jump, their knees tend to
go inward slightly where boys tend to keep their knees in front and on top
of their feet," Dr. Marshall explained.
For girls like Andrews, specialized rehab and training now includes more
than strengthening exercises. She'll also learn ways to jump and land to
avoid injury.
"If we can prevent these injuries from happening in the first place, then
everybody's happy," Julie Nellis, MPT, CSCS, a physical therapist at
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, told Ivanhoe.
Experts say to prevent injuries always do the following: warm up before the
game, hydrate to avoid cramping and injury, flex your knees and keep them
parallel when jumping and landing, and if you feel a pop or buckling in your
knee … stop immediately!
With the right therapy and a little patience, Andrews hopes she'll be back
on the field again soon. "I'm definitely hoping to play next year," she
said.
The typical treatment for an ACL injury is surgery followed by rehab. ACL
tears aren't the only injuries more common in girls. A recent study showed
high school girls that play basketball suffer concussions at three-times the
rate of boys. Girls are also more likely to suffer chronic knee pain and
shin splints.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Harold King, M.B.A, A.T.C.L.
Orthopaedic Community Outreach
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
Atlanta, GA
(404) 785-7570
