ACL injuries in women: what you need to know
What is an ACL injury?
The Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) is an important ligament within the knee joint responsible for stability. The ACL connects the tibia (shin bone) and the femur (thigh bone) and prevents the tibia from moving forwards too much and helps with rotational stability.
An injury to the ACL could either be a partial strain or a complete rupture but review with a surgeon will be necessary to determine management. An injury to the ACL can only be diagnosed via an MRI scan however here at Pro Sports medicine we can take a thorough history and assess your knee subsequently referring you on to the correct medical professionals.
Statistics
The ACL is the most commonly injured ligament in the athletic knee. Women are 4-6 x more likely to sustain an ACL injury in comparison to their male counterparts. 80% of ACL injuries are non-contact and often happen during sharp deceleration and/or change of direction. The greatest risk ages for women are 15-25 years.
Why are women more likely to have an ACL injury?
Females are more susceptible to ACL injuries for several reasons. Females have lesser development of hamstring muscles leading to a muscle imbalance, putting them at an increased risk. Biomechanically the way that females land, decelerate and change direction can put them more at risk. Females tend to land in a more erect position, with greater hip internal rotation and adduction which increases the forces on the ACL. Additionally, females tend to have a younger training age in comparison to their male counterparts due to access to coaching and strength and conditioning from a young age.
Surgery vs conservative management
ACL injuries should be managed through an individualised approach, and this can be discussed with the team at Pro Sports Medicine.
Rehabilitation- what does this look like?
Rehabilitation takes on an individualised approach and together with the physiotherapists at Pro Sports Medicine you can discuss your goals and what activities you want to return to.
Rehabilitation post ACL injury requires dedication to allow for the return of functional range of movement in the knee, muscle strength, power, function and return to sport. Depending on your goal the physiotherapists will work together with you to tailor your plan.
Return to sport
Return to sport and performance requires a battery of testing to be undertaken to ensure that you are ready to return, and your risk of re-injury or subsequent injury is mitigated.
Here at Pro Sports medicine, we have the expert clinicians and equipment to ensure that we have you covered through the use of VALD force plate technology and our Alter-G anti-gravity treadmill.
Prevention
ACL prevention programmes have shown to reduce ACL injury risk by 60%. Both our expert female athlete physiotherapists work for the Welsh Rugby Union within women’s rugby.
A strong emphasis is placed on the development pathway, so young female players coming through the system are putting injury prevention exercises into their programmes from an early age. You can access these skills and knowledge at Pro Sports Medicine.
Meet our Specialist Female athlete Physiotherapists, who are leading the way in welsh women’s rugby and conducting ongoing research to reduce the risk of ACL knee injuries…
Jo Perkins Msc MCSP POGP
Chartered Physiotherapist
Jo graduated from Cardiff university in 2005 with a 1st class BSc (hons) degree in Physiotherapy. She has always had a passion for sports and so after 5 years working for the NHS she left to work in professional rugby.
Jo specialised in rehabilitation and injury prevention at the Scarlets RFC where she worked until 2018 whilst also completing her MSc in Sports Medicine with a merit.
After having her 2 children, Jo decided to specialise in female health and developed a special interest in female performance and postnatal rehabilitation and worked in private practise for 2 years.
She is co founder of online female fitness and rehabilitation www.theglowmethodathome.com and continues to be involved in various research projects aiming to improve the support for female athletes. Jo is also Pilates and acupuncture trained.
Completing various specialist courses in all aspects of female health and performance, Jo went on to work for the women’s Welsh national rugby squad where she been Head of Medical since 2022 when they became professional. Notably Jo has recently written the World Rugby postnatal guidelines, demonstrating her standing as a leader in the field on the world stage.
Cara Jones MCSP
Chartered Physiotherapist
Cara graduated with a BSc Honours degree in physiotherapy from Robert Gordon University in 2014. After graduating Cara worked in the NHS for two years gaining experience in many different areas of physiotherapy. In 2016 she started working in private practice specialising in musculoskeletal medicine working with both the general public, amateur and semi-professional athletes.
Cara has a specialist interest in sport injury rehabilitation and management. She has worked with the Scotland National Futsal team and has been part of the physiotherapy team for numerous Badminton World Federation. Cara is now Physiotherapist to the Wales Women National Rugby Squad
Cara has relocated to Wales to study an MSc in Sport & Exercise Physiotherapy at Cardiff University, alongside working with the team at Pro Sports Medicine.
