If you’re a fan of professional and college football, as well as many other sports, you’ve probably heard about players tearing their ACL. This injury, known as Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury, is a very common athletic injury.

The anterior cruciate ligament is one of four ligaments that stabilize your knee joint. Over the past 20 years or so, more and more people have become more involved in sports and as the numbers rise in participation, so do ACL injuries.

It is so common in fact, that an estimated 1 in 3,500 people will suffer from this injury. In the United States, it is estimated that approximately 70% of these injuries are associated with sports participation.

Those at the greatest risk of this injury are people between the ages of 16 and 45.

But Why?

This is when most people really get serious about sports.

High school athletes are becoming more involved in sports and looking to play college sports and adults are looking for a fun pastime where they can get exercise and socialize at the same time.

However, interestingly enough, girls and women are 2 to 4 times more likely to suffer from anterior cruciate ligament injuries than male athletes. This is because a woman’s thigh muscles work different than men’s, with the quadriceps muscles contracting prior to the hamstring. The hamstring is an important muscle in protecting the ACL and if the quadriceps contracts first, the ACL is left vulnerable to injury.

How Does An Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Occur?

Basically, there are two ways.

The first is contact. Men tend to be more involved in contact sports and therefore more of the ACL injuries in men occur during these sports. Sports such as rugby, soccer and football all see ACL injuries frequently.

The second is non-contact causes. For instance, planting a foot and then rapidly changing directions with the rest of the body is a main cause for ACL tears. Women tend to experience these types of injuries more often than men. Other causes are when you land awkwardly after a jump or have an aggressive muscle contraction while the knee is flexed. This might occur during downhill skiing for instance.

The best way to prevent muscle tears or anterior cruciate ligament injuries is to strengthen and stabilize joints, especially the knees, prior to engaging in full contact sports or activities. Make sure you’re in good physical shape before participating in long-distance running, baseball, basketball and other sports and activities that require quick changes of direction.