Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries are becoming increasingly more common in Australia, particularly amongst younger populations. An Australian study conducted between 2000-2015 found an increase of 43% (54.0 to 77.4 per 100,000 population) for ACL injury rates, with 74% of all injuries among those aged under 25 years old. Peak ACL injury rates in 2014-15 for men were those between 20-24 years old, and for women between 15-19 years old. However, the most rapid increase was noted for boys and girls between 5-14 years old, exposing how early ACL injury might need to be considered.
With ACL reconstruction being both expensive and time consuming, totaling $142 million estimated spend on Australian hospital costs in 2014-15, as well as an average rehabilitation time of 12 months, studies emphasize the importance of prevention for ACL injuries, and its increasing need amongst younger populations.
Research identifies prevention programs that include plyometric, neuromuscular, and strength training are most crucial in avoiding ACL injuries. With programs that focus on improving muscle power, speed, and capacity under load, as well as correcting and improving quality of movement, have been able to reduce the incidence of ACL injuries by up to 51%.
Therefore, if you or your children are involved in sport or more physically demanding activities, it may be recommended that you implement a prevention program to help keep your knees and ACL’s safe!
If you need any assistance in setting up an individualized prevention program, please contact the clinic.
References:
Mehl, J., Diermeier, T., Herbst, E., Imhoff, A.B., Stoffels, T., Zantop, T., Petersen, W. and Achtnich, A. (2017). Evidence-based concepts for prevention of knee and ACL injuries. 2017 guidelines of the ligament committee of the German Knee Society (DKG). Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery, 138(1), pp.51–61. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-017-2809-5.
Nessler, T., Denney, L. and Sampley, J. (2017). ACL Injury Prevention: What Does Research Tell Us? Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine, 10(3), pp.281–288. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s12178-017-9416-5.
Zbrojkiewicz, D., Vertullo, C. and Grayson, J.E. (2018). Increasing rates of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in young Australians, 2000-2015. Medical Journal of Australia, 208(8), pp.354–358. doi:https://doi.org/10.5694/mja17.00974.
For more information or to book an appointment, please call The Physio Clinic on 8342 1233.
Written by Gavin Toyama | Physiotherapist at Prospect
