Perhaps the biggest topic of conversation in the preventative injury world today is ACL tears. Professional athletes being sidelined due to such injuries at seemingly heightened rates, with National Football League players getting perhaps the most media attention in the United States. Whereas previous perceptions seemed to hinge on treating these injuries once they’ve already occurred, there has been a groundswell of momentum for programs that can keep those injuries from happening in the first place.
A new report from Sports Illustrated delves into the efforts of doctors to implement training programs in the NFL and other sports so that the dreaded ACL tear never occurs. In particular, the report focuses on the efforts of one surgeon who has worked with United States soccer teams to apply that same regimen to the NFL.
The training focuses not on improving knee health directly, but in getting more strength and balance in the hips, which have a vital role to play in ACL health. Recent research has showed that the way an individual positions their legs, starting with the hip, when they land or decelerate plays a critical role in the amount of stress placed upon the knee and the ACL. When this stress gets to be too much, the ACL simply can’t take it anymore.
The surgeon in question developed the exercise program, known as PEP, by first looking at how youth female soccer players handled the regimen, as these players are thought to be one of the demographics most susceptible to injury. His research, which was later broadened to include men’s college players, discovered that the risk of an ACL tear was reduced by just under two thirds if player submitted to a short preventative exercise program just three times per week.
A female athletic trainer, the first ever to work full time for the NFL, explains that NFL players often need work in certain areas and that training the core is a vital part of improving ACL health. A trainer for the Oklahoma University football team notes that equipment also plays a critical role, with knee braces and the proper footwear contributing to a reduction in ACL injuries.
One problem explored in the article is the unwillingness among teams and players to explore ACL injury prevention options prior to a health issue taking place. Teams are loath to invest in a program whose results are marked by a distinct lack of incident, making it hard to say whether it works or not, and many athletes get used to different training programs they’ve been working on individually for years.
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