Ella Gould
The most important time for college lacrosse recruits is the summer leading into junior year of high school. During this time, college coaches line the fields to watch games intently, looking to find the next players for their roster. On September 1, after that long and draining summer, Division 1 college coaches are allowed to reach out to players they want to recruit, and many D1 teams complete their rosters in the fall. But what about the players who have prepared their entire life for this summer, and don’t get the opportunity to compete due to injury?
Two players on my travel lacrosse team tore their ACLs within the past year. They were unable to participate during the recruiting summer, which may ultimately cost them their dream of playing lacrosse at the collegiate level.
The anterior cruciate ligament, better known as the ACL, is located in the middle of the knee and acts as a stabilizer for the knee joint: “[it] keeps the knee from hyperextending, or moving beyond its natural motion” (MacKay). While the ACL is not needed to walk straight, it is critical for side-to-side movement. The ACL can tear when the knee experiences sudden stress while performing tasks, such as quick stops with directional changes while running, pivoting, or landing. A slight tear in this ligament can happen in dramatic fashion with an audible “pop” and immediate severe pain.
ACL tears can happen to people of varying ages and lifestyles. Elderly people are at risk for ACL tears due to the weakening fibers in their ligaments. ACL tears also affect obese individuals due to the biomechanical stress their weight puts on the knee. However, it is most common to see ACL tears in active athletes while they are training or competing. Sports like basketball, lacrosse, soccer, and skiing have a higher rate of ACL tears. The quick change of direction, sudden pivoting or cutting, and landing from jumps that athletes perform in these sports make them more susceptible to this injury. Although tearing the ACL has been common among young athletes throughout history, there is troubling research that shows this injury is affecting more and more young people. The incidence of this injury for “those between age 6 and 18 has steadily increased by 2.3% annually over the past 20 years, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics” (MacMillan). This troubling increase in incidence requires an emphasis on effective prevention strategies.
One possibility for the continually growing number of ACL tears is the surface athletes are competing on. After seeing a number of female lacrosse players in the program tear their ACL under similar circumstances, my coaches warned all players not to wear cleats on the turf field. Over the last 20 years, many sports complexes, from town complexes and high school fields to college and professional stadiums, have converted from grass fields to artificial turf. Research has proven that there are higher rates of injury on artificial turf than natural grass. Natural grass has the flexibility to move and control the “torque value,” Torque is involved in any rotational movement, whether it be the twist of the body during a pivot, or the rotation of joints when running. High levels of torque can cause the ACL to rupture because it places a lot of stress on it. And there is a clear correlation between the growing number of ACL tears and the growing number of turf surfaces people are competing on.
Another contributing factor is the type of shoe worn by the athlete. A study done by ONSF shows that ACL tears are much more common while wearing cleats as opposed to turf shoes. Specifically, long, conical studs, which are found on all lacrosse cleats, are a common variable for ACL tears. It is not surprising to note that both of my teammates tore their ACL on a turf field while wearing cleats.
Research shows that women are at a biological disadvantage, and more susceptible to torn ACL’s. Females are up to “ten times more likely to suffer from the debilitating injury than their male counterparts” (Washington). Female bodies typically have wider pelvises than males. Dr. Gardner, a Yale Medicine orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist, claims that this biological difference results in “changes… of how the thigh bone, tibia, and femur function,... put[ing] more stress on the soft tissues that support your joints” (MacMillan). Another Yale Medicine primary care sports medicine specialist, Samantha Smith, explains how women’s knees are made with less muscle mass, causing instability in the ligament, and therefore increasing the risk of tearing. Lastly, varying estrogen levels during a woman’s menstrual cycle can cause the ACL to be looser. With a loose ACL that is not protected by muscle density, women are at an extremely high risk for a torn ACL.
Because women are more susceptible to a torn ACL, the focus on prevention methods for female athletes is critical. Dr. Mary K. Mulcahey, the director of Sports Medicine and the Women’s Sports Medicine program at Loyola Medicine, emphasizes that exercising and strengthening numerous areas of the body is more important than focusing on one specific exercise. She encourages female athletes to join strength and conditioning programs that can strengthen muscles in and around the knee, hips, and core. These plans take time and require consistency to yield results, but they are crucial to injury prevention.
ACL tears are a common, yet daunting injury that leave athletes with weaker joints, months of rehab, and likely nine to twelve months of being sidelined from their respective sport. Specific training of muscles in and around the knee has been proven to be critical to injury prevention already. However, the rupture is still common among athletes, which highlights the need for continued research and new prevention methods to combat susceptibility to ACL tears in female athletes.
Works Cited
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