Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries in Females: Risk Factors, Prevention, and Outcome.

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are common among all participants in sports, occurring in approximately 1 in 3,000 individuals yearly in the USA. Epidemiological studies of ACL injuries have demonstrated that females are at higher risk for injury than males. When compared to male athletes participating in the same sports, the risk of ACL injury is two to eight times greater in females.1-3 A significant research effort has been directed at identifying risk factors that may predispose females to ACL injury. Female athletes likely have an increased incidence of ACL injury due to anatomic, hormonal, biomechanical, and neuromuscular differences between the sexes. Extrinsic factors may also play a role. As the number of girls and women participating in athletics continues to increase, understanding risk factors and developing prevention strategies will have profound physical, psychological, and financial implications for female athletes and the medical system.