Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Prevention Program Implementation for High School Athletes Is Extremely Low and...

To assess the rates of usage of anterior cruciate ligament injury prevention programs (AIPPs) among high school athletes and identify barriers to implementation.

After Institutional Review Board exemption, high school sports teams covered by a regional multispecialty orthopaedic practice were identified. Athletic directors, trainers, and coaches for each school were contacted for completion of a survey on (1) sex, level, size, and coaching/training staff of each team; (2) incidence of anterior cruciate ligament injuries among players over the past 5 years; (3) team's use of AIPPs; and (4) interest and perceived barriers related to AIPP use.

Thirty-eight representatives from 522 teams (54.0% boys' teams, 46.0% girls' teams) across 22 high schools responded to the survey. Eighteen teams (3.5%) were found to use AIPPs. The 27 (87.1%) of the 31 representatives from the remaining 504 teams reported being aware of the existence of AIPPs. The most common barrier reported against implementing AIPPs was a lack of trained staff (43.6%), followed by time constraints (33.0%).

Despite widespread knowledge of AIPPs across high school athletic team coaching and training staff, only 3.5% of teams currently utilize these programs. Most common barriers to implementing these programs include a lack of trained staff and time restraints during training.

Numerous AIPPs show promising results, but their adoption remains inconsistent. It is important to evaluate the awareness and implementation of AIPPs among coaches and trainers and investigate barriers to their adoption. Information from this study may help increase the use of AIPPs and thereby reduce the incidence of anterior cruciate ligament injuries in young athletes.