Why are women more susceptible to knee injuries?

Wired reports: 

Women are more susceptible to knee injuries than men, a fact long attributed to differences in muscular and skeletal structure. A new study suggests gender differences in the nervous system also may play a role.

Research at Oregon State University suggests men and women differ in how they transmit the nerve impulses that control muscle force. The finding may help explain why women are far more likely than men to blow out their knees, specifically the anterior cruciate ligaments, during non-contact activity. Answering that question could lead to training regimens that reduce the risk of injury. Although ACL tears often are repaired, there is a 15 percent chance of re-tearing, and even repaired injuries can lead to osteoarthritis.

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“Some people say women are twice as likely to injure their ACL than men,” said Sam Johnson, one of the authors of the study and a clinical associate professor in the School of Biological and Population Health Sciences. “Some say eight times, but it’s probably somewhere in between.”

Researchers have been trying for 20 years to figure out why women are so prone to knee injuries. They’ve long known skeletal and muscle differences are a factor, but not so great as to explain the divergence in injury rates between the sexes.

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Lindsay Suyes is back after ACL Surgery

newsleader.com reports:


When Lindsay Suyes was helped off the field last April during a soccer game, the then Wilson Memorial junior recalled thinking one thing.


"This really hurts."


The Green Hornets were hosting Robert E. Lee and Suyes remembered waiting for teammate Sarah Thibodeau to cross the ball.


When Thibodeau hit the line, Suyes, standing all alone, turned. Nothing drastic. No contact by another player. She simply turned. As she described it, half of her knee stayed still and the other half moved.


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Understanding of ACL injuries is still evolving

The Baltimore Sun reports: 

Concussions may have recently taken the spotlight in lacrosse sports medicine, but anterior cruciate ligament injuries are still a major unanswered issue for the sport. ACL tears are the leading cause of missed game and practice time at both the high school and college levels of play for both males and females.

Concussions may have recently taken the spotlight in lacrosse sports medicine, but anterior cruciate ligament injuries are still a major unanswered issue.

ACL tears are the leading cause of missed game and practice time at both the high school and college levels of play for both males and females. Data from the US Lacrosse membership insurance program shows that knee-related claims —primarily ACL injuries — are greater than all other injury payouts combined. In general, ACL injury rates are on the rise but are particularly high in teenage boys and girls, females of all ages and players with a previous history of ACL tear.

The risk factors for initial injury and failure of return to play are multifaceted and include core athletic abilities, lower-extremity biomechanics, fear of reinjury and access to comprehensive medical care. Although most ACL injures are noncontact in nature, video analysis reveals that these injuries are often related to adjustments such as a quick dodge or awkward landing that players must make in response to unanticipated activities around them.

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ACL injuries more prevalent in women

The New Haven Register reports:


The first time, Carley Mulligan was in eighth grade.

She went up for a layup and got bumped from behind by a defender. She came down on her right leg, her knee turned in and twisted. Mulligan had torn her anterior cruciate ligament, one of four major ligaments in the knee.

Then, about a year later, Mulligan was on the floor for a game during her freshman season at Choate. She was up the court, dribbling. No other player was around. Mulligan planted her left foot, went to turn the other way and tore her left ACL.

“I was injury-free until that happened,” said Mulligan, now a junior at Choate. “Sports were a huge part of my life. I was devastated.”


Mulligan is one of countless female athletes that have fallen victim to the ACL epidemic.

Michael Medvecky, associate professor in the department of orthopaedics and rehabilitation at the Yale School of Medicine, along with Paul Bauer, an orthopedic physical therapist and practice director of Physical Therapy Specialists, recently put on a free presentation at Adams Middle School in Guilford. They showed why ACL injuries are more common in females and how to help prevent them. Mulligan was on hand to share her story of twice suffering a torn ACL.


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Sara Toti undergoes ACL surgery

Govolsxtra.com reports:

Tennessee women's tennis player Sarah Toti underwent successful surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee, according to a UT release on Friday.

The freshman suffered the injury during doubles play in a home match against Arkansas on March 25.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Greg Mathien and Dr. Russell Betcher of the Knoxville Orthopedic Clinic at UT Medical Center. Toti is expected to return in time for the start of the 2013 season.

Ranked as the 13th-best prospect nationally, Toti earned a conference-high three SEC Freshman of the Week honors.

Toti's 26 doubles wins are tied for the seventh on the all-time career list for UT freshmen. It included a 15-match winning streak with Brynn Boren from Nov. 11-Feb. 25.

She finished the season with a 15-11 record in singles and 26-7 in doubles.

Female skiers likelier to injure non-dominant knee

Reuters reports: 

Women skiers are more likely than men to injure a knee while skiing, and a new study shows they are about twice as likely to have that injury occur to their non-dominant leg, often the left one.

The study did not go so far as to explain these inequalities, but Dr. Robert Johnson, a sports medicine physician at the University of Vermont College of Medicine said it could be caused "by a whole herd of issues."

"Anatomy, strength patterns, muscle patterns, wider pelvis...it all adds up. It's not just one factor," said Johnson, who was not involved in the research.

Earlier studies have shown that women are twice as likely as men to hurt a knee during downhill ski crashes, and three times as likely to tear the knee's anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL.

Gerhard Ruedl, lead author of the new study and a researcher at the University of Innsbruck in Austria, said he was interested in looking at whether women's knee troubles had to do with leg dominance.

The dominant leg is the one that a person prefers to kick with.

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Kathryn Reynolds suffers torn ACL

HawkeyeSports.com reports:

University of Iowa freshman Kathryn Reynolds suffered a torn ACL in her left knee during offseason workouts Wednesday afternoon.

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This is the second injury to Reynolds' left ACL. She tore the same ligament six games into her junior season in high school.

"It's always tough to see one of your players tear an ACL for the second time," head coach Lisa Bluder said. "We were really looking forward to seeing Kathryn's improvements throughout offseason workouts. She has great skills and our depth at point guard is very thin right now. Kathryn is a tough competitor and we expect her to make a full recovery."

Reynolds played in 21 games as a freshman and averaged 6.1 minutes per contest. She netted 13 points and dished out 15 assists on the season. She scored a season high four points vs. Drake and tallied a season best five assists against Western Illinois.

Reynolds will have surgery within the next two weeks. The date is still to be determined.

Katherine Simon on top after knee injury

The New Haven Register reports: 


Perhaps only someone with the disarmingly friendly, infectious personality of Katherine Simon could consider tearing up their knee a blessing in disguise.

But that’s exactly how the Amity junior shot put star views the injury she suffered a little over two years ago, and she’s got a good point.

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Had she not torn her meniscus, ACL and MCL while playing indoor soccer in March, 2010, Simon, who was a strong sprinter as a freshman, may not have shifted her full focus to the shot put and emerged as one of the best in not only Connecticut, but all of New England.

“Initially, I thought it was a huge setback for track,” she said. “But it turned out well and allowed me to focus more on shot put, which I realized was my best event.”


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