The Causes Of ACL Injuries

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ACL injury is quite prevalent in the United States. About every 1 in 3,000 people suffer from an ACL injury in their lifetime, and approximately 95,000 new incidences of ACL injury occur each year. The largest amount of these injuries occurs during sports which involve twisting, cutting, jumping and deceleration. The mechanisms that can cause an ACL injury are excessive valgus (outside of knee) stress, forced hyperextension, or forced external rotation of the femur on the a fixed tibia (Evans, 2001). Many associate the tearing of the ACL with a large impact or collision, however 80% of all ACL injuries are non-contact injuries. This statistic shows that ACL injuries are mostly caused by the individual themselves as opposed to an opponent or other person. The exact mechanism of noncontact ACL tears consists of poor knee positioning (e.g. landing with an extended knee) and a strong, unopposed quad contraction (Murray, 2013).
Acute ACL injuries are classified by the amount of damage that is done to the ACL. This damage ranges from partial to complete disruption, and also whether or not other structures in the knee were damaged. If just the ACL was damaged the injury is referred to as isolated, however if more than the ACL was damaged it is referred to as combined. About 15% percent of all ACL injuries are partial sprains (grade 1 or 2). About 85% of all ACL injuries are complete disruptions (grade 3). Only about 25% of ACL injuries are isolated, which means that most of the time the ACL is injured other structures in the knee are injured as well. Some combined injuries may include damage to the meniscus (60%), articular cartilage (30%), and other ligaments in the knee (MCL, PCL, LCL) (30%). The amount of damage done not only to the ...

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...p, etc.). Natural grass fields are generally better than turf field. They have lower rates of foot, ankle, and knee injuries. Another type of risk factor that has been identified is the type of shoes worn. Many studies have theorized that shoe design could increase the risk of ACL injury. The two factors of shoes that have gained a lot of attention are the “release coefficient”, and the surface interaction. The “release coefficient” is the force-to-weight ratio of the shoe. These studies stated that an optimal shoe would have minimal rotational friction, which would result in reduced rotational stress of the leg. It would also need maximal translational friction, which would allow safer stopping. Both of these combined would potentially cut down on ACL injuries.
Age is another important factor to consider when discussing the factors that contribute to ACL injuries.

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