ACL tears in collegiate wrestlers: report of six cases in one season.

Six NCAA Division I wrestlers at The University of Iowa tore an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during the 2002-03 season. In comparison, between the years of 1993 and 2002, only five wrestlers sustained the same injury. Retrospective review and video data analysis were performed. All six were injured while their knee was near terminal extension and in a vulnerable position. Eighty-three percent of all injuries occurred during takedowns. Five of the six wrestlers' mechanism of injury involved rotation and stress on the weight-bearing knee. Eighty-three percent sustained their injuries while their foot was firmly planted on the ground. Five of the injuries occurred in competition. Of the six wrestlers injured, four underwent immediate rehabilitation in hope of wrestling that same season. Three ultimately needed surgery and one continued to wrestle in the same season without having surgery. Of the five wrestlers who underwent surgical reconstruction of their ACL, each had bone-patellar-bone grafts.