ACL Injury Risk Reduction: Demonstration of Key Exercises

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture is a common injury that causes significant detriment to the athlete, including surgical cost, long recovery time, uncertain return to sport, and sequelae such as meniscus tears. Therefore, it is important to minimize the risk of sustaining an ACL injury. When adequately developed, trainable athletic attributes such as balance, proprioception, motor control, and strength can contribute to a reduction in injury.

Athletic trainers or sports performance specialists may implement these exercises as part of a structured program during in-season or off-season training to reduce the risk of ACL injury in healthy athletes.

The following exercises are categorized as training balance and proprioception or as training motor control and strength. The former category includes star squats on a balance board and 1-legged medicine ball tosses on a balance board. The latter category includes 1 hop to a 45° cut, weighted calf raises, and weighted single-leg squats.

Studies have found that engaging in a preventative program can significantly reduce the risk of sustaining an ACL injury. Athletes who did not partake in an ACL injury prevention program were nearly twice as likely to sustain an ACL rupture compared to those who did. Evidence suggests that neuromuscular training achieved specifically through incorporation of a balance board can contribute to injury prevention. Prevention of ACL injury is of paramount importance to athletes, coaches, athletic trainers, and physicians. Avoiding ACL injury can spare the athlete psychological distress, lost playing time, medical costs, and orthopaedic sequelae. Evidence suggests that a structured ACL prevention program can mitigate the risk of ACL injury. Furthermore, the exercises demonstrated are both time efficient and cost effective. It is important to note, however, that many factors contribute to ACL injury, including the athlete's intrinsic biology and anatomy, the nature of their sport, and other confounding factors.

The author(s) attests that consent has been obtained from any patient(s) appearing in this publication. If the individual may be identifiable, the author(s) has included a statement of release or other written form of approval from the patient(s) with this submission for publication.