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The ACL (cnterior cruciate ligament) tear, is so commonplace in women's basketball that's an injury now treated almost matter-of-factly, as though it was bound to happen to someone or at some point.
According to statistics, female athletes are two to eight times more likely to tear their ACL than their male counterparts, and basketball, soccer and volleyball players between the age of 15 and 25 are the most at-risk. The reasons and explanations abound, yet few are substantiated by fact. Different researchers offer different opinions on the influence of small ACLs, hormones, wider hips, etc.
Research, however, consistently reveals that the three areas where most ACL tears occur are landing from a jump, cutting or stopping. While a player cannot eliminate these movements from her game, she can make them safer.
Every coach yells to get lower, believing it will help her performance, elevating the shot or making her quicker. Defending in the post is usually a battle of who can get their center of gravity lower and move the other player out of position. On the perimeter, defenders must get low and in a stance in order to increase lateral quickness. Offensively, everything starts from a stance because to do anything well -- pass, shoot, dribble, drive -- the player must get low, so starting in a stance allows the player to get to the option quicker because the first step, bending the knees, is already accomplished.
However, these constant refrains from coaches may also be helpful hints to prevent serious injury.
According to Laura Ramus, head athletic trainer and strength and conditioning coach for the Detroit Shock, 'the typical male athlete lands with forces two-and-a-half times his body weight after a maximum jump, while a female athlete lands with forces up to five times her body weight.' This is because females play with a more upright posture, causing poor shock absorption and increasing pressure on the joints and ligaments of the knee.
Females create bad habits when they start their playing careers, as they play with an upright posture and fail to build strength in their hamstrings. From an early age, they create muscle memory that they maintain through their playing days, and this increases the risk of ACL injury. According to Ramus, men's hamstrings are 60 to 70% as strong as their quadriceps, while women's hamstrings are 45 to 55% as strong as their quadriceps.
With weaker hamstrings, girls land, cut and stop too upright, placing too much pressure on the ACL, which is about the same diameter as a pencil, but which acts to stabilize the knee joint.
To reduce the risk of injury, research suggests females should work to strengthen their hamstrings and re-learn proper techniques, including how to land properly from a jump. While many of these programs are also aimed at improving one's vertical leap, the reduced risk of ACL injury is probably the greatest benefit.
The Santa Monica Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Research Foundation has developed a fifteen-minute program called the PEP (Prevent Injury and Enhance Performance) Program, which has been shown to reduce ACL injuries by as much as 85% in studies conducted on youth soccer players. The program, which serves as a warmup routine three times a week, involves a warmup, stretching, strengthening, plyometrics and agility drills.
The program is designed to 'address potential deficits in the strength and coordination of the stabilizing muscles around the knee joint.' The program also emphasizes proper movements and techniques: the same principles coaches constantly seek with their continual yells of 'Get lower!'
For more information on the PEP Program, visit www.aclprevent.com. For more information on Laura Ramus and her similar programs, go to www.girlscanjump.com.
McCormick runs High Five Hoop School in Sacramento: http://hi5hoopschool.tripod.com.
5/25/04
