Epidemiology of Primary Anterior Cruciate Ligament Ruptures in Men and Women

Abstract

In the practice of sports that require impact and pivot movements such as football or skiing, knee injuries are common and among these is important to underline the rupture of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL). Noncontact movements cause a 70% of ACL injuries and there is a high incidence of ruptures in women. Therefore, the objective of this study is to analyse what are the causes for the difference in incidence between men and women in terms of ACL ruptures. Through the search in the previous literature it has been observed that the fact that female athletes suffer ACL injuries with a higher frequency than male athletes is mainly due to anatomical, hormonal, biomechanical and neuromuscular control factors. Due to this occurrence, it is important to promote mainly treatments and prevention plans in order to reduce neuromuscular imbalances, that is predominant in women, to decrease the risk of ACL injuries in female athletes.