ACL Injuries in Adolescents

ACL Tears are on the Rise

Do you know someone who has torn an ACL? Two? Have you torn an ACL and found it difficult or impossible to return to sport?

Nearly 250,000 ACL injuries occur in the USA on an annual basis(1-2), with 25% happening amongst 13-18 year old athletes — a number that has doubled(1-2) over the last two decades.

Gender Bias

Recently published meta-analyses have concluded a 1.6x higher relative risk for females vs males(3-4), with the highest risk sports being soccer, basketball, and lacrosse respectively(4). Female multisport athletes have as high as 10% chance of tearing their ACL throughout their high school and collegiate career!(5) If torn, recovery times are recommended to be no shorter than 9 months — and only 55-65% return to prior level of play.(6) Of those that return, 20-25% sustain a 2nd ACL injury.(7) For teenage athletes with hopes of achieving collegiate competition, losing 9+ months while recovering from an ACL tear can be devasting, not only for player development and showcase opportunities, but also due to the risk of reduced future participation.

Prevention is Paramount

Sports organizations should include robust and evidence-based ACL injury prevention training to mitigate these risks. While nearly all organizations have regimens that focus on skill development, very few include true injury prevention and movement health screens.

For programs that do exist, they often fail at one or more of the following:

• Athlete Specificity (programs are universal rather than specific to the athlete’s abilities)

• Utilizing Evidence-Based Methodology (bulk to entirety of program is not based on published data)

• Tracking Relevant Outcomes Pre- and Post- Training (ex: Hip-Knee Mechanics vs Jump Height)

• Analyzing more than 1 plane of movement (if any)

• Analyzing neuromuscular activation data (muscle activity)

Assess Risk and Train to Prevent

Anthrokinetics has developed a lab-based approach that assesses all of these variables and compares them against published norms to help identify risk and recommend tailored programs to improve movement patterns and mitigate the chance for ACL injury. This lab consists of accelerometer and surface electromyography sensors combined with cameras to measure critical variables during specific high speed movements like turn-pivots, counter jumps, and even slower tasks like single-leg balance activities. Measuring the right variables during these tasks can give significant insight into injury risk (screening protocol 1-6)

If you are an organization looking to add value by keeping your players on the field, you should consider partnering with the right injury rehabilitation and human movement specialists who are equipped with the expertise and robust methods to properly prepare against costly injuries.

If you are an individual worried about tearing your ACL, or have had a previous ACL injury and want to be assessed for readiness to return to sport, please reach out and let’s set up a consultation!