This article about an assistant soccer coach at Acton-Boxborough High School in Massachusetts caught my attention because this is where I grew up.
As ACL injuries are incredibly common in female soccer players, it isn’t surprising that a coach would have suffered several ACL injuries herself. One study showed that a multi-sport female athlete had a nearly 10 percent risk of ACL injury during high school.
The data regarding ACL injury in female soccer players is very concerning, with studies showing that two thirds of female soccer players who returned to soccer after ACL reconstruction re-injured their knee within 5-10 years and 42% re-tore their ACL.
It has been 26 years since I started my orthopaedic residency, and so far we haven’t figured out:
1. How to prevent ACL injury in the first place and
2. How to reconstruct the ACL in such a way as to minimize re-injury.
The article is from the New England Soccer Journal, but unfortunately it’s gated for subscribers only.
(Image is a courtesy photo from the article.)