J36 — September 2009 —ACL Injury Prevention

Intro: This story is all too common on the soccer field and basketball court. A high school athlete jumps to get the ball, lands and blows out a knee. And most of that time those athletes are girls. Girls are four to six times more likely to suffer a certain kind of knee injury than boys. And that's why sports medicine specialists at Mayo Clinic developed a camp aimed at preventing knee injuries for young female athletes.

"KEEP THAT KNEE OVER THE FOOT."

SPEED. AGILITY. QUICKNESS. ATHLETIC TRAINER CANDEE MILLS IS HELPING THESE HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER PLAYERS IMPROVE THEIR GAME.

"WE ALSO WORK ON INJURY PREVENTION TO HELP CORRECT FAULTY MECHANICS." YOU SEE, WHEN YOU CUT, PIVOT OR JUMP YOU PUT STRESS ON THE ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT OR ACL IN YOUR KNEE. AND IF YOUR KNEE COLLAPSES INWARD DURING THESE MOVES THAT LIGAMENT CAN TEAR. "POP. THERE GOES THE KNEE." ACL INJURIES ARE ESPECIALLY A PROBLEM FOR GIRLS, POSSIBLY BECAUSE OF THE ANGLES OF THEIR LEG BONES OR IMBALANCED MUSCLES AROUND THE KNEE. BUT PROPER TRAINING CAN HELP PREVENT ACL INJURIES. "WE'RE TYRING TO TRAIN THEM TO BE ABLE TO LAND BETTER AND JUMP BETTER."

"LEGS SHOULDER WIDTH APART. YOU HAVE TO JUMP AS HIGH AS YOU CAN AND WHEN YOU LAND YOU HAVE TO LAND STRAIGHT AND YOUR KNEES CAN'T GO IN OR OUT." "REALLY AT THE HEART OF RESEARCH NOW IS JUMP MECHANICS AND LANDING MECHANICS."

THESE DRILLS TEACH HOW TO MOVE MORE SAFELY AND THEY WILL STRENGHTHEN THE MUSCLES AROUND THE KNEES. BECAUSE ACL INJURIES USUALLY MEAN A TRIP TO THE OPERATING ROOM.

"ACL RECONSTRUCTIONS ARE NOT MINOR. RECOVERY CAN KEEP YOU OUT OF THE GAME FOR NINE MONTHS." OR EVEN A YEAR. BUT INJURY PREVENTION TRAINING CAN KEEP THESE GIRLS IN THE GAME.

FOR MEDICAL EDGE, I'M VIVIEN WILLIAMS.

Anchor tag: For more information on ACL injuries and reconstruction, visit our Website at

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