Why is the ACL the most common knee injury?

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the key ligaments that help stabilize your knee joint. The ACL connects your thighbone (femur) to your shinbone (tibia). It’s most commonly torn during sports that involve sudden stops and changes in direction — such as basketball, soccer, tennis and volleyball.

Why are ACL injuries so common in athletes?

Why is the ACL particularly susceptible to injury? The ACL is the most common ligament in the knee to suffer injury. If the shin bone translates, or moves, forward excessively on the thigh bone and rotates, it can cause the ACL to stretch and tear partially or completely.

Is the ACL the most common knee injury?

The ACL is the most commonly injured ligament in the knee. The annual reported incidence in the United States alone is approximately 1 in 3500 people.

What sports are ACL injuries more common in and why?

The Riskiest Sports. Nationally, athletes are most likely to injure their ACL playing soccer than any other sport. “Soccer players cannot predictably plant their foot because they’re getting jostled by an opponent while turning for the ball.

Can you bend your knee with a torn ACL?

Some people find that the knee joint feels looser than it should. Less range of motion. After you damage your ACL, it’s very likely that you won’t be able to bend and flex your knee like you normally would.

How do you know if a knee injury is serious?

Signs knee pain may be serious include:

1. Extreme pain.
2. Swelling.
3. Large wounds.
4. Knee deformity.
5. Feeling or hearing a popping when injury occurs.
6. Joint instability.
7. Inability to bear weight on affected leg.
8. Inability to straighten leg.

What sport has most ACL injuries?

However, of the 9 sports studied, football had the largest number of ACL injuries and the highest competition-related ACL injury rate. Athletes were 7 times more likely to sustain ACL injuries in competition than in practice. Overall, 76.6% of all ACL injuries resulted in surgery.

At what age do females demonstrate the highest prevalence of ACL injury?

Females had significantly higher incidence except in the 17- to 18-year-olds. Females peaked at age 16 years and males at age 17 years, with rates of 392 ACL tears and 422 ACL tears per 100 000 person- years, respectively.

Are ACL tears more common in males or females?

While women are two to four times more likely than men to tear the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in their knee, the cause of this injury is no different between the sexes, according to new research from Duke Health. The findings counter a common explanation for the higher incidence of the injury in women.

What is the most painful knee injury?

Quadruple Knee-Ligament Injury It also seems that the more severe the damage to the knee, or the more ligaments destroyed in the injury, the more pain the player seems to be in. For this reason, the quadruple ligament injury must be one of the most painful football injuries imaginable.

Where is ACL pain located?

You will likely feel pain in the center of your knee during an ACL tear. Because the MCL is located on the side of your knee, the pain and swelling will be located on the inside of the knee structure rather than the middle.

What happens when you hit your knee cap really hard?

If the knee cap is hit really hard in this area (and doesn’t break …), the tissue called the bursa can bleed and swell and hurt. This area can take a lot longer to heal than just a simple bruise, but generally it should go back to normal.

Can a 10 year old tear his ACL?

I have frequently been asked, isn’t 10 years old very young to tear an ACL? Yes, for children that young, it is rare, but not unheard of. And for adolescents and teenagers, ACL injuries are occurring more frequently, likely due to early sport specialization, and the increase in travel sports and year-round training².

Can a 7 year old tear an ACL?

The slightly older 7- to 9-year-old group seems to suffer the injury with greater frequency. Both boys and girls seem at risk. Although an ACL may be torn during any activity, the most common causes in this age group seem to be related to gymnastics, trampoline, bicycle and football activities.

What sport has the highest rate of ACL tears?

At the high school level, girls soccer has the most ACL injuries, followed by boys football, girls basketball, girls gymnastics, and boys and girls lacrosse. Among high school and college athletes, females have two to six times higher ACL injury rates than males in similar sports.