Campaign starts to prevent ACL injuries in females

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An injury to the anterior cruciate ligament in the knee can immediately send an athlete to the sideline, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that in 2006, there were more than 46,000 female athletes age 19 and younger who experienced a sprain and strain of the ACL, with nearly 30,000 requiring repair.

In fact, there are studies that young female athletes are up to eight times more likely than boys to tear their ACL. That’s the motivation for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the National Athletic Trainers’ Assn. to launch a public service campaign to educate on prevention and treatment.

‘While there is no single exercise that can prevent ACL injuries, the chances of such an injury happening can be lowered by performing training drills that emphasize power and agility and by improving muscular reactions with jumping and balance drills,’ according to Letha Griffin, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine at the Peachtree Orthopaedic Clinic in Atlanta.

-- Eric Sondheimer