There are a couple of factors that can increase ACL injuries.
Hormones. This mostly applies to female athletes but certain points of a female’s menstrual cycle makes her more prone to injuries. The hormones basically tell the body to “loosen up” in prep for potential birth and this instability increases risk of injury.
Previous history of injury to that knee/leg, not just ACL injuries but ANY injury. Re-injury is far more common. Any previous meniscus tears, medial/lateral collateral ligament tears, etc, will weaken that area. This area will always be the weakest link and first to go, especially in contact sports. This is why appropriate rehab and adequate time off will greatly reduce chances of re-injury. It takes about a year to fully rehab an ACL injury and reduce risk of re-injury. Unfortunately athletes are not always provided this time off.
Mechanism of injury. ACL injuries occur when there is stress on the knee joint, usually because there is a fixed point and another force that creates knee torsion. An example of an external force is when a football player is tackled; the foot is the fixed point to the ground and the tackle creates the knee torsion. This can also occur without an external force like a tackle. An athlete is also prone to ACL injury when she/he quickly changes direction (ie: cutting); the foot planted is the fixed point and the change of direction creates torsion. This can also occur if a basketball player jumps for a shot and lands awkwardly, which can also create the same knee torsion with a fixed foot. My guess is your football player was quickly changing directions when his injury occurred. He could’ve had other previous injuries that might’ve contributed to his risk of re-injury, but a professional level athletes body is asked to do a LOT more than the average person and at higher speeds, which already puts him at risk for ACL injury even if he didn’t have a previous history.
To answer your question on prevention, it would greatly reduce an athletes chances of ACL injury if he/she has a good strength and conditioning coach that focuses on strength, balance and engaging the correct muscles during agility drills. Have you ever lifted something heavy without using your legs/core and then regretted it? You can likely still lift it but your back will just hate you for the next few days. Same concept with athletes, except they are in a much faster paced environment and need to react much more quickly. They don’t have time to think “oh yes need to lift with my legs not my back” - it should be drilled into them like second nature to use correct musculature during their movements. Sounds easy, but it’s not. Our bodies are smart and will adapt/compensate to do the movement but over time, repetitive incorrect movements will result in pain and injury. In addition, fatigue throughout the course of a game will also contribute to more mistakes/injuries. An athlete needs to be conditioned not just to barely make it through the game but be at 100% throughout the entirety. Sport performance coaching is a lot more nuanced than one would think but a good training program/coach will make a big difference to the athlete.
spicemyrice t1_itkcajs wrote
Reply to Do ligaments (ACL) build up to an injury or just suddenly fail? by Toast1185
There are a couple of factors that can increase ACL injuries.
To answer your question on prevention, it would greatly reduce an athletes chances of ACL injury if he/she has a good strength and conditioning coach that focuses on strength, balance and engaging the correct muscles during agility drills. Have you ever lifted something heavy without using your legs/core and then regretted it? You can likely still lift it but your back will just hate you for the next few days. Same concept with athletes, except they are in a much faster paced environment and need to react much more quickly. They don’t have time to think “oh yes need to lift with my legs not my back” - it should be drilled into them like second nature to use correct musculature during their movements. Sounds easy, but it’s not. Our bodies are smart and will adapt/compensate to do the movement but over time, repetitive incorrect movements will result in pain and injury. In addition, fatigue throughout the course of a game will also contribute to more mistakes/injuries. An athlete needs to be conditioned not just to barely make it through the game but be at 100% throughout the entirety. Sport performance coaching is a lot more nuanced than one would think but a good training program/coach will make a big difference to the athlete.