The State of ACL Injury Research
ACL Injury in the Female Athlete: a Multifactorial Problem that Remains Poorly Understood. Sandra J. Shultz. Journal of Athletic Training, 43 (5) 2008.
The first report of sex differences in the neuromuscular functions of male and female athletes was in 1996. The research emphasis since then has been on determining why there are differences between the genders, and what can be done to reduce risk of ACL injuries in both genders, certainly, but in female athletes specifically. Prevention programs have been created, implemented, and studied for effectiveness. As effective as some of these prevention programs have been, questions still abound as to “the underlying mechanisms for sex differences in neuromuscular and biomechanical function and the extent to which these differences truly predict increased injury risk,” and “the underlying causes for … sex differences -- anatomical, hormonal, or otherwise.”
With these and other questions in mind, a conference was held in Greensboro, North Carolina, in April 2008. The purpose of the “Research Retreat IV: ACL Injuries -- The Gender Bias” retreat was to “continue to examine the factors thought to be associated with females’ increased risk of ACL injuries and to do so via keynote presentations by nationally and internationally known experts in the field, abstract presentations of original research conducted by attendees, and focused discussions.” At the conclusion of this meeting, a consensus statement that had been developed during past retreats was updated and revised, resulting in a clearer picture of “what we know, don’t know, and still need to know” in relation to ACL injuries in general, and females’ increased risk of ACL injuries specifically.
The consensus statement, reports, and articles related to ACL research discussed at the conference can be found in the Sept.-Oct. 2008 issue of the Journal of Athletic Training. The articles from this issue can be accessed from the journal’s Table of Contents.
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