ACL Injury
Prevention Program

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is located in the center of your knee. It keeps your leg bones (the tibia and femur) from sliding forward and rotating. A robust and stable knee keeps you kicking, running, twisting and cutting — all without injury. But a knee that isn’t healthy, strong or stable can give out, and an ACL tear is often the result.

Female athletes are four to six times more likely to experience an ACL injury. The cause for this phenomenon has many factors including physical, structural, and biomechanical. The ACL Injury Prevention Program, developed by the Orthopaedic Institute at St. Elizabeth, has been designed to benefit all athletes, both male and female. 

Many ACL injuries are preventable. It takes strength training and sports training to ensure movements are completed correctly and athletes understand proper techniques. The ACL Injury Prevention Program helps ensure movements are completed accurately and athletes understand proper techniques that enable them to move more safely with less risk of injury.

After an ACL injury, the rate of re-injury to the same ACL, or injuring the opposite knee’s ACL, is possible. One way to minimize those injuries is to continue to train and strengthen the knees. Injury prevention programs can be utilized by athletes who have experienced a prior ACL injury to continue to strengthen their knee after the initial recovery period.