ACL Tears in Women
Have you ever wondered how it feels to tear your ACL? Well, think about tearing your ACL twice! Jenny Demuth lost her starting spot on the Indiana University basketball team the very first day of practice for that season “she had suffered an injury to her ACL, the most devastating three-letter acronym in women’s sports” (Clardie). She tore the ACL that was located in her left knee, and then, by May of that next year, she tore the same ACL once again; that makes for two tears in thirteen months. ACL tears have become more and more common “such a circumstance isn’t uncommon among women’s basketball players” (Clardie). This circumstance may not mean much to us here in the small town of Pequot Lakes, Minnesota, but …show more content…
ACL tears happen to both men and women, but according to studies by the NCAA’s Injury Surveillance System “female athletes are as much as four times more likely to suffer ACL Injuries than their male counterparts” (Clardie). One of the most common beliefs as to why this happens is because women possess a different bone structure than men. Women almost always have a wider hip and pelvic structure than men; because of this, women experience increased stress on their knee compartments, ligaments, and muscles (Schmidt). Specifically, the angle at which the femur connects to the knee is wider than males, so women have pressure surrounding their ACL (Musgrave). Also, women have a tendency to have “valgus knees,” which means that women commonly have knees that angle in and touch one another when they are straightened. (LeBlanc). Consequently, Brittny Bzdok has suffered from “valgus knees” her entire life, and this possibly could’ve been the cause to her tear. Lastly, women have a smaller notch in the bone where the ACL passes than males do, causing the joint to be more susceptible to being injured (LeBlanc). Since bone structure can’t really be altered, women will probably continue to suffer more injuries due to this …show more content…
Women tend to be more flexible than men, which often leads to greater incidents of sprains and injuries of joints (Schmidt). When these ligaments are in normal use there usually aren’t many problems; however, “in high-energy situation the joint can get wrenched out of place” (LeBlanc). This means in high-intensity games like basketball, soccer, and volleyball women tend to see a lot of stress on the ligaments. Supposing that women’s ligaments are already laxer than males, experiencing additional laxity is even more of a problem. Moreover, this problem occurs when a woman is in their menstrual cycle. Research has shown that for whatever reason there is an increase in ligament laxity while a woman is in her menstrual cycle, and this probably affects their ACL’s too (Clardie). It is believed that during this period the muscles surrounding the ACL become loose; therefore, the ACL is forced to work harder (Musgrave). Currently, Scientists are unsure as to why this hormone may be affecting women, but right now they already know that it plays a large part in the dissolving of ligaments while animals are pregnant (Almond). Many studies about this have been inconclusive, but Dr. Jason L. Dragoo, a Stanford Orthopedic Surgeon, planned to conduct a four-year research study on the PAC-10 women’s basketball players in order to find out whether there was a relation between
Have you ever wondered how it feels to tear your ACL? Well, think about tearing your ACL twice! Jenny Demuth lost her starting spot on the Indiana University basketball team the very first day of practice for that season “she had suffered an injury to her ACL, the most devastating three-letter acronym in women’s sports” (Clardie). She tore the ACL that was located in her left knee, and then, by May of that next year, she tore the same ACL once again; that makes for two tears in thirteen months. ACL tears have become more and more common “such a circumstance isn’t uncommon among women’s basketball players” (Clardie). This circumstance may not mean much to us here in the small town of Pequot Lakes, Minnesota, but …show more content…
ACL tears happen to both men and women, but according to studies by the NCAA’s Injury Surveillance System “female athletes are as much as four times more likely to suffer ACL Injuries than their male counterparts” (Clardie). One of the most common beliefs as to why this happens is because women possess a different bone structure than men. Women almost always have a wider hip and pelvic structure than men; because of this, women experience increased stress on their knee compartments, ligaments, and muscles (Schmidt). Specifically, the angle at which the femur connects to the knee is wider than males, so women have pressure surrounding their ACL (Musgrave). Also, women have a tendency to have “valgus knees,” which means that women commonly have knees that angle in and touch one another when they are straightened. (LeBlanc). Consequently, Brittny Bzdok has suffered from “valgus knees” her entire life, and this possibly could’ve been the cause to her tear. Lastly, women have a smaller notch in the bone where the ACL passes than males do, causing the joint to be more susceptible to being injured (LeBlanc). Since bone structure can’t really be altered, women will probably continue to suffer more injuries due to this …show more content…
Women tend to be more flexible than men, which often leads to greater incidents of sprains and injuries of joints (Schmidt). When these ligaments are in normal use there usually aren’t many problems; however, “in high-energy situation the joint can get wrenched out of place” (LeBlanc). This means in high-intensity games like basketball, soccer, and volleyball women tend to see a lot of stress on the ligaments. Supposing that women’s ligaments are already laxer than males, experiencing additional laxity is even more of a problem. Moreover, this problem occurs when a woman is in their menstrual cycle. Research has shown that for whatever reason there is an increase in ligament laxity while a woman is in her menstrual cycle, and this probably affects their ACL’s too (Clardie). It is believed that during this period the muscles surrounding the ACL become loose; therefore, the ACL is forced to work harder (Musgrave). Currently, Scientists are unsure as to why this hormone may be affecting women, but right now they already know that it plays a large part in the dissolving of ligaments while animals are pregnant (Almond). Many studies about this have been inconclusive, but Dr. Jason L. Dragoo, a Stanford Orthopedic Surgeon, planned to conduct a four-year research study on the PAC-10 women’s basketball players in order to find out whether there was a relation between