If you’re a teenage athlete, or the parent of one, you probably live in fear of a torn anterior cruciate ligament, one of the knee’s key stabilizing ligaments.
A torn ACL often requires surgical repair. But so-called neuromuscular training programs can cut the risk of a serious ACL injury and should be recommended to at-risk young athletes, especially girls, according to a clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Female athletes in high school are 2.5 to 6.2 times more likely than their male counterparts to suffer from ACL injuries in sports like soccer, basketball, baseball/softball, track, and volleyball. Moreover, they are more likely to have surgery and less likely to return to sports afterward.
Regardless of treatment, which incudes surgery and months of rehabilitation, affected athletes are 10 times more likely to develop degenerative arthritis of the knee.
Neuromuscular training can help adolescent girls, the study reports, significantly reducing the risk of injury through plyometric and strengthening exercises.
Agencies/Canadajournal
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