If I had a dollar — scratch that, just a dime — for every time I have heard a patient, a friend, or some random person my mother gave my number to say, “So-and-So said I tore my ACL. Please tell me it’s not my ACL!” all my medical school loans would be paid off by now.
The anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, sure gets a lot of attention, but most people have little or no idea what it is, how it’s injured, or how to treat it. Worst of all, most people don’t realize that women are two to eight times more likely to tear this ligament than men!
The ACL, is one of four ligaments connecting the bones of the knee together. It is centered in the middle of the knee, behind the kneecap. The knee joint acts like a hinge. It has some involvement in side-to-side movement and rotation, but the ACL primarily exists to prevent and protect our knees from the extremes of these movements. It provides a significant amount of stability so that we can do more than just run in a straight line. The ACL makes jumping, pivoting, turning, and spinning possible.
Most people might imagine two soccer players colliding or a football player getting tackled when they think of ACL injuries, when on the contrary, often all that’s needed to cause a tear to this ligament is slowing down and changing directions. In fact, nearly 70 percent of ACL injuries are noncontact injury. It can happen during a plyometric workout, jumping down from a pull-up bar, getting a ski caught in the snow or even during a co-ed kickball homerun celebration (don’t ask) — and those are just a few scenarios.
There is a lot of research dedicated to testing theories and ideas related to ACL injury risk factors, and for this article I will divide the findings into two categories: external factors (outside our bodies) and internal factors (within our bodies).
The proven external factors, for men and women — that is, factors that we can technically change or avoid — include:
The internal risk factors are what put women at an increased risk of a tear.
The proven internal risk factors — that is, structural aspects of our bodies that we can’t change — include:
The proven internal risk factors that we can change:
One thing that has yet to be proven is whether or not the menstrual cycle and female hormones play any role. 1,2,3 Some experts say yes, some say no. Although theories abound, reliable research is hard to produce. There are too many variables in our bodies and lives that make it difficult to link one specific thing, like our cyclic estrogen and progesterone levels, to why we, as women, tear ACLs at a higher rate.
Many studies have shown that females placed in a preventive or corrective exercise program greatly decrease their risk of tearing an ACL when compared to women following a training program without preventive or corrective elements. In some studies, the decrease was as much as 75 percent! 4,5,6,7
Programs like the ones in these studies emphasize improving strength, balance, plyometrics, and agility exercises with regular warm-ups and cool-downs. The main focus of correction in these programs has been the “knee over toe” position when cutting and landing while keeping the knees and hips in a flexed position. Results can usually be observed after six to eight weeks of consistently performing the corrective exercises for 15 minutes a day, three days a week. A refresher course now and then seems to help, too!
Variations of these programs are readily available, and many trainers, coaches, and active females implement them into their routines. 8,9,10
I may be a surgeon, but contrary to popular belief about surgeons, I love preventing surgeries! I love taking care of active people. That’s why educating women on ways to avoid ACL tears and other injuries is so important to me. However, if I didn’t mention ACL treatment, surgery, and recovery, it would leave some folks with a lot of questions.
Rather than diving into the nerdy details of ACL repair surgery, instead I am going to clarify why most ACL tears end up on the operating table, explain some of my decisions as a surgeon (usually based on the individual patient), and provide a few key points on recovery and rehabilitation after the surgery.
Some of the most common questions I get are:
Now, the long answers.
An ACL is not a heart attack or a brain tumor. Having ACL surgery will not literally save your life. The treatment is about quality of life, and a lot of things have to be considered. It helps to make a pros and cons list.
The ACL does not have a good blood supply, so it can’t receive essential nutrients for optimal healing from the blood that would repair and heal the tear.
When I said that an ACL helps with stability of the knee, it’s not just so that we can stay active and keep moving our bodies. The ACL also prevents stress on other structural elements within the knee, like the cartilage.
The most basic definition of arthritis is loss of cartilage. It has been proven, over and over again, that a knee without an ACL will develop arthritis much faster than a knee with an ACL.11 The arthritis can show up as soon as a couple years after a tear.
The same thing is true of a meniscus tear. Tearing an ACL puts more stress on these structures, and that added stress causes them to wear out more quickly. Arthritis and meniscus tears can hurt, with activity or all the time. So, even if you don’t jump, skip, pivot or dance, getting an ACL tear treated with surgery can possibly prevent pain in the future.
With all that said, this is real life we are talking about here.
These are all very important things to consider. This is why I say no or it depends when asked whether you should have surgery.
Recovery and rehabilitation are a lot more straightforward! Some of the steps overlap, especially in the beginning, but most surgeons follow the same plan with just a few personal touches. This plan typically moves through the following phases:
On average it takes about nine months after surgery to return to full activity without any restrictions. The range is six to 12 months. This might sound like a long time, but ACL surgery gives you a new ACL so it takes time to fully heal. You can’t safely stress that new ACL until it’s ready to accept that stress. Sure, you can build muscles that stabilize the knee, you can start in-line running, but the other stuff will need to wait until the ACL is completely healed. The hardest part for most ACL surgery patients is that the knee often feels amazing long before it has completely healed, making it hard (but not impossible!) to resist the urge to try activities that are deemed unsafe before the knee is ready. Sadly, some people figure this out the hard way, by re-tearing the new ACL.
This may feel like information overload, all for one little knee ligament, but it is for good reason. The ACL is responsible for so much, and women are more likely to tear it! Though we’re still learning a lot about the ACL, knowing the risk factors that you can control and being aware of ways to protect yourself from an ACL tear is valuable knowledge that can help you optimize your quality of life.
Coaches and trainers can be incredibly helpful not only as a first line of defense when it comes to reducing the risk of ACL injuries, but also in ensuring the client gets a proper diagnosis and treatment from a medical professional.
Risk Reduction
The Santa Monica Sports Medicine Foundation offers an outline of a program that has been shown to decrease the risk of ACL tears in females. Little to no equipment is required, it can be performed in many different environments.
Identifying An ACL Tear
While diagnosing is best left to a medical professional, as a coach or trainer it’s important to know the signs of a torn ACL in order to help your client or athlete get immediate and optimal care. Things to listen and look for if you suspect a torn ACL:
If you suspect an ACL tear, the two most important things to do are discontinue all activity and strongly recommend scheduling an appointment to see a doctor right away.
Treatment
After your athlete or client has been diagnosed and treated by a physician for an ACL tear, your help and influence can make a huge difference. An ACL tear and treatment (surgery or no surgery) can have major psychological effects. Keeping the conversation open and encouraging compliance with the rehabilitation plans helps immensely! You’ve already gained their trust, so your advice and support go a long way.
Your client will most likely still be able to do isolated upper body workouts and certain lower body and core workouts early on in the rehabilitation process. Most surgeons prescribe regimens that can be done outside of formal physical therapy to help in the rehabilitation process. Having a trusted, educated trainer who can help them maintain their fitness and prevent significant loss during this process is an added benefit.
Imagine having compassionate and empowering answers to your clients’ questions about nutrition and diets, body image struggles, and body transformation goals right at your fingertips…
Feeling qualified to write effective training programs, coach nutrition habits and skills, and use women-specific behavior change psychology to empower women to reach their goals...
With our GGS-1 Women’s Coaching Specialist Certification, you’ll gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence you need to help any woman — at any stage of life — who comes to you for help.
From disordered eating and other important psychological considerations to pelvic floor, menopause, and hormonal issues, our Certification dives deep into often-overlooked topics that affect women’s health — and teaches you exactly how you can help while staying within your scope of practice. Feel confident and prepared to coach any woman who comes to you for help.
Interested in learning more? Join our free, no-obligation pre-sale list. Get all the details on how you can save up to 33% and secure your spot before the general public.
Impact women’s lives. Create a rewarding career. And join thousands of health and fitness professionals dedicated to changing the standard of care for women.
We'll send you more info about the Certification, give you the chance to enroll early, and save up to $400 off the general price.
Enrollment opens only twice a year. Spots are limited.
