Essay On ACL Injuries In Female Athletes

701 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Gender issues in sports

ACL Injuries in Female Athletes on the Rise
In the heat of the game, she races toward the ball. As her opponent changes directions, she quickly cuts the corner. She feels a sudden pop and her knee gives out; she collapses in agony on the ground. Her diagnosis: a torn ACL, every athlete’s worst nightmare. Unfortunately, this scenario has become all too familiar in female athletics. Over the past twenty years, there has been a dramatic increase in ACL injuries in young female athletes between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five. A once devastating and career-ending injury has become a common household term and an everyday occurrence, or so it seems. The anterior cruciate ligament, commonly referred to as the ACL, is one of four major ligaments …show more content…

Since Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 was passed, there has been an exponential surge of female participation in organized sports. With this increase in participation, the number of injuries sustained by women has subsequently increased (Silvers & Mandelbaum 52). This surge of female participation is supported by Mary Lloyd Ireland, M.D., Michael Guadette, M.D., and Scott Crook, M.D., who found that prior to Title IX only one in thirty women participated in organized sports; now, it is one in three. Inevitably, there is going to be a much higher injury rate with ten times as many female athletes. In addition to an increase in the number of female athletes, a higher level of competition in women’s sports has also been established. Originally, women participated in sports as a means to socialize. However, once women’s sports became more widespread and gained attention as well as respect, women, much like men, demonstrated a desire to win and pursued sports for the intense competition. Consequently, this has also led to an increase in the number of ACL injuries in young female

Show More
Related

  • ACL Injury In Female Athletes

    576 Words  | 2 Pages

    The incidence and prevalence rate of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in female athletes continues to increase over time (Prodromos, Han, Rogowski, Joyce, & Shi, 2007). With the growing rate in the amount of young women participating in sports, data has shown that the rate of ACL injury increases linearly with this participation ("The Relationship Between Static Posture and ACL Injury in Female Athletes," 1996). This epidemic of ACL injuries in female athletes, young or old, continues to be problematic in the athletic world. This problem not only affects the athlete themselves, but also the coaches and the sports medicine community.

    Read More

  • ACL Reconstruction

    1331 Words  | 3 Pages

    The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the most important of your four major knee ligaments. The function of the ACL is to provide stability to the knee and minimize stress across the knee joint. It restrains excessive forward movement of the lower leg bone (the tibia) in relation to the thigh bone (the femur). It also limits rotational movements of the knee. “Greater external knee valgus and internal rotation moments have been shown to increase loading on the ACL in vitro and are thought to be associated with the increased risk of noncontact ACL injury” (Effects 2011). A tear to the anterior cruciate ligament results from overstretching of this ligament within the knee. It’s usually due to a sudden stop and twisting motion of the knee, or a “...

    Read More

  • Females Are More Susceptible to ACL Tears

    788 Words  | 2 Pages

    Tearing the ACL is now considered an epidemic in the United States over 100,000 recorded incidences are reported each year (Moeller). While such a finding may be good for orthopedic doctors and surgeons, this is not good for millions of athletes’ competing these days in high intensity sports. This is especially a problem for female athletes who are two to four times more likely to tear their ACL than men (Moeller). This is one of the biggest mysteries about ACL tears is the difference between the number of injuries seen in women and men. Women tend to tear there ACL far more frequently then men. While not everyone agrees that gender itself is the source of the problem, evidence is growing that females are learning too late that participating in sports can also become the first step to ruining an active lifestyle.

    Read More

  • Why Are Acl Injuries More Common? Females?

    1024 Words  | 3 Pages

    The most common knee injury in sports is damage to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) through tears or sprains. “They occur in high demand sports that involve planting and cutting, jumping with a poor landing, and stopping immediately or changing directions” (University of Colorado Hospital). The ACL is a ligament that runs diagonally in the middle of the knee and found at the front of the patellar bone. Its function involves controlling the back and forth motion of the knee, preventing the tibia from sliding out in front of the femur, and providing rational stability to the knee. Interestingly, women are more prone to ACL injuries than men. The occurrence is four to six times greater in female athletes.

    Read More

  • All About the ACL

    1471 Words  | 3 Pages

    In November of 2010, I was playing basketball in the fifth game of my senior season. It was just like any other game. However, I would soon find out otherwise. It was late in the game; I drove into the lane and got fouled hard. I was knocked so off-balance that I speared the floor with my knee. As soon as my knee hit the floor I heard a “snap” that I will never forget for the rest of my life. Little did I know at the time, that would be the last shot of my high school basketball career. Not long after my injury, I consulted a doctor. After getting an x-ray and an MRI, the doctor informed me that I had completely torn my ACL and would need to have surgery. An ACL tear can be a very devastating injury. The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the four major ligaments within the knee. The ACL is one of the most commonly injured ligaments, injured by an estimated 200,000 patients each year. Of the 200,000 annual ACL injuries, surgery is performed in approximately 100,000 cases. There are many types of reconstructive surgery on the ACL. However, there is an alternative to surgery in the form of physical therapy.

    Read More

  • ACL Injuries in Athletes

    1190 Words  | 3 Pages

    ACL Injuries in Athletes The Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) attaches the femur, which is the thighbone, and the tibia, which is the shin, together (northstar). A torn ACL is one of the most excruciating experiences in an athlete’s life. It is the first thing that comes to mind when they hurt their knee on the field; for many it is their greatest fear. A torn ACL can sometimes mean the end of an athlete’s career.

    Read More

  • Anterior Cruciate Ligament (A.C.L) Tear

    917 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The anterior cruicate ligament is a strong band that arises from the posterior middle part of the lateral condyle of the femur, it passes anteriorly and inferiorly between the condyle, and is attached to the depression in front of the intercondylar eminence of the tibia (Mosby‘s page. 105).” The tear of the A.C.L is described as a partial or complete rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament. The A.C.L. does not repair by itself. It is so important to an athlete in most sports because an athlete has to be able to rotate the knee in specific directions. The tear happens more frequently in soccer, basketball, and volleyball. Athletes who started participating in a sport while they were young have a greater chance of sustaining a tear. Women are more susceptible to this injury than men. Theories for this include hormonal, environmental, and biomechanical factors. “Women‘s muscles react differently in landing. Doctors say that women land with straighter legs than men do; thus, they pass their shock to the A.C.L. resulting in a tear. Environmental factors are shoes and playing surfaces.” (Patrick, Dick)

    Read More

  • Essay On Sports Injuries

    584 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are many injuries in general, but sports injuries? Sprains and Strains are the most common injuries in sports. “Sprains are injuries to ligaments, the tough bands connecting in a joint. Suddenly stretching ligaments past their limits deforms or tears them” (Hoffman 1). Ligaments are like springs in a sense that when you stretch a spring, it will return to it’s normal state unless they are

    Read More

  • The Title IX Of The Education Amendment Act Of 1972

    724 Words  | 2 Pages

    Since 1972, sports have slowly undergone major changes that prove well today. Title IX has helped girls and women have more of an advantage on the athletic fields. “The Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 says that no person in the United States, based on gender, can be excluded from participating, denied benefits of, or subjected to discrimination under any educational program.” (Athletics). It allows for both men and women to play sports whether it is a girl on the football or wrestling team, a boy cheerleading, or even gymnastics. Title IX builds confidence, has helped women have a chance in sports, and has equal opportunities for both sexes.

    Read More

  • Women Sport Athlete Injuries

    1818 Words  | 4 Pages

    The number of girls and women participating in all levels of sports has risen greatly in recent years, and the way they play has changed too. Women's sports used to be played by a slow defensive style. Today, the sports are played with speed, precision, and power. With these changes have come increased injuries, and female athletes have higher injury rates than men in many sports. Knee injuries have been rising in female sports. Anterior crutiate ligament (ACL) injuries have become the most common injury in the knee to female athletes. Females are four times more susceptible to injury then men.

    Read More

  • Title IX

    996 Words  | 2 Pages

    When the American people think of women in sports, they think of ice skating, field hockey, and diving. People don’t recognize that women have the potential to play any sport that a man can play, with equal skill, if not better. Much has changed for women since the 1970’s. One of the most important events that have happened in the world of female athletics is the establishment of professional athletics for women. Educational Amendments of 1972.

    Read More

  • The Negative Effect of Golf

    1275 Words  | 3 Pages

    Donna A. Lopiano “Modern Hisory of Women In Sports” Clinics in Sports Medicine19.2 (2000): 163-173. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 April. 2000.

    Read More

  • Female and ACL injuries

    1242 Words  | 3 Pages

    A 16 year old, female high school soccer player, Lindsey Robinson tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) from a soccer game. Interestingly, she was not the only one in her team who injured her ACL, but also several of her teammates have torn the same ligament as well during the soccer season. Lephart (2002) found that women involved in physical activity are more susceptible to acquire the ACL injuries than men who are involved in the same physical activity (as cited in Ogden, 2002). According to “ACL Injury Prevention” (2004), the numbers on female ACL ruptures have been increased for the past ten year. Over 1.4 million women have been suffered from the ACL rupture which is twice the rate of the previous decade. Therefore, female ACL injuries are now a growing problem in the nation (Anonymous, 2004). Back in 1950s and 1960s, female participation in sports was rare; therefore, the rate of injuries was very low. However, according to “ACL Injuries and Female Athletes” (n.d), as Title IX was implemented in 1972, female participation in numerous sports has dramatically increased. Moreover, the rate of acquiring injuries to the ACL also has dramatically increased (Anonymous, n.d). In terms of comparing the rate of acquiring ACL injuries between two genders, females have higher rate than males do. According to the “Physical Therapy Corner” (2007), “women suffered anterior cruciate ligament injuries more often than men, nearly 4 times as often in basketball, 3 times as often in gymnastics, and nearly 2 and a half times as often in soccer” (Knee Injuries section, para.1). There are various risk factors that contribute to the high rate of acquiring injuries to the ACL for female athletes. External factors such as improper sh...

    Read More

  • Gymnastics Athletic Injuries

    1070 Words  | 3 Pages

    The sheer energy of a gymnast alone can be felt by audiences of all ages, but what the spectators lack the ability to feel is the pounding of the bodies that bear the impact of the athletes in action. Gymnastics consists of a mixture of acrobatic performances of four different events for females, and six different events for males (Gianoulis 1). Gymnastics is demanding in a multitude of ways, including: physically, emotionally and mentally. It requires countless hours of dedication. The concerns of most gymnasts are moving up to the next level, or getting a more advanced skill, while the concerns of the doctors, coaches, and parents revolve mostly around the athlete’s health, which is put at stake for the adored yet dangerous sport. Injuries are common among both male and female gymnast alike, but due to the fact a female gymnast’s career peaks at the same time of major growth and development, a female gymnast’s body as a whole is more likely to undergo lifelong changes or affects (Gianoulis 2). Among the injuries of the mind blowing athletes, the most common ones affect the ankles, feet, lower back, wrist, and hands of individuals (Prevention and Treatment 1). From sprains, to the breaks, the intriguing sport of gymnastics is physically demanding on a gymnast’s body.

    Read More

  • History of Women in Sports

    1518 Words  | 4 Pages

    For most of human history, athletic competition has been regarded as an exclusively masculine affair. Women weren't aloud to watch most sporting events let alone participate in them. Not till late 19th century did women really begin participating in sporting events. Although women were permitted to participate in many sports, relatively few showed interest, for a variety of social and psychological reasons that are still poorly understood. Title IX declares: "No person in the U.S. shall, on the basis of sex be excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal aid." Therefore sex should not deem females athletic ability as inferior in comparison to men. Women are physically, mentally, and emotionally capable of playing any sport just as men are.

    Read More

More about Essay On ACL Injuries In Female Athletes

Open Document