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Prevention in ACL Injuries

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Sports Injuries

Abstract

The anterior cruciate ligament of the knee (ACL) is one of four primary ligaments holding the knee. As more women practice sports such as soccer and basketball, it has become increasingly apparent that females are at a higher risk for non-contact ACL injuries than males. The risk factors for ACL injury have been considered as internal (hormonal and anatomical) or external (like footwear and playing surfaces). Approximately 80% of ACL injuries are non-contact, occurring while landing from a jump, cutting, or decelerating. Even though the exact reason for the higher rate of ACL injury in women is not yet clear, some factors such as differences in anatomy, hormones, strength, or conditioning are pointed. Several prevention programs have been designed that aim at reducing the risk of knee ligament injury. They try to improve neuromuscular and proprioceptive abilities, altering the dynamic loading of the tibio-femoral joint, with proven results.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Orthopedic Surgery, Knee and Sports Traumatology, Portuguese Air Force Hospital, Lisbon, Portugal

    Henrique Jones

  2. Orthopedic Surgery, Portuguese Air Force Hospital, Lisbon, Portugal

    Pedro Costa Rocha

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  1. Henrique Jones
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  2. Pedro Costa Rocha
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Correspondence to Henrique Jones .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fac. Medicine, Dept. Orthopedics & Traumatology, Hacettepe University, Hasyrcylar Caddesi, Ankara, 94110, Turkey

    Mahmut Nedim Doral

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© 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Jones, H., Rocha, P.C. (2012). Prevention in ACL Injuries. In: Doral, M. (eds) Sports Injuries. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-15630-4_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-15630-4_6

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-15629-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-15630-4

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