Can female ACL injuries be prevented?

Penn Live reports:

Anterior Cruciate Ligament knee injuries occur four-to-six times more frequently in female athletes than in male athletes playing the same sports.

It is believed that the difference in neuromuscular control, or the way our muscles contract and react, is one of four primary factors contributing to why women are more susceptible to knee injuries than men. Other discrepancies are anatomical (men and women are structurally different), hormonal (women's hormonal makeup affects the integrity of the ligament, making it more lax), and bio-mechanical (the positions our knees get in during athletic activities).

Seventy percent of all ACL injuries occur without contact. Most ACL injuries occur at foot strike with the knee close to full extension during quick deceleration or landing maneuvers. To read more about ACL injury prevention in female athletes, click here.

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