women

This ligament is one of the main stabilizers of your knee joint and along with its counterpart, the Posterior Cruciate Ligament, crisscross each other in an ‘X’ like manner within the middle of the joint. “The anterior cruciate ligament passes from the anterior interconyloid fossa of the tibia to the medial back part of the lateral condyle of the femur”.(1)

Both of these ligaments provide additional “anterior-posterior stability”(2) in addition to adding extra “rotational stability”(3) to the knee joint. During any movement of the joint, these fibers are taut throughout the full range of motion (ROM). The ACL, which helps to prevent anterior movement of the tibia on the femur, is the most frequently damaged ligament of the two simply because it is the weakest. Once damaged, surgery seems to be the only remedy, which will enable a continuation in the sport without further damaging the integrity of the joint.

Injuries to the joint via the ACL in a female are three to eight times more likely than to their male counterparts. The reasons often cited for these unhappy and painful occurrences are varied but all tied together in the female anatomy:

*Wider hips
*Narrower intercondylar femoral notch width
*Limb alignment
*Joint laxity
*Ligament size
*Muscle strength
*Strength imbalances between the quads and the hamstrings
*Altered neuromuscular activation and recruitment
*Faulty jumping and landing technique
*Hormonal changes

(1)Structural Kinesiology, Barham J. N. and Wooten, E.P. The Macmillan company, New York, 1973
(2)Therapeutic Exercise for athletic injuries, Houglum, P. A. Human Kinetics 2001
(3)Ibid