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Professional athletes and knee injury |
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Prevalence and Incidence of ACL Injuries in various sports Football In football,
it's pretty much the standard to undergo ACL surgery. One study
showed that 31 out of 31 physicians for the teams of the National
Football League would recommend that their players have ACL surgery.
These athletes constitute the most elite football players in the
world, and their physicians are often considered the same for their
profession. In football, the approach to surgery varied slightly
by position: (4) The majority of the physicians, 95% recommended that they wait until the swelling had subsided to do surgery - 97%
of the physicians recommended that they use the patellar tendon
autograft for the surgery. Return
to Play:
During skiing, there is a very high stress places on the knees. As a result of this and the ferociousness of skiing accidents, there is a very high percentage of knee injuries in skiing. From 1930 to 1970, knee injuries in skiing accounted for 20% of injuries. Over the past two decades, knee injuries in skiing have risen to around 1 in 3 injuries. Within this group, ACL injuries account for as high as 49% of the knee injuries. MCL injuries occur in a much higher frequency in skiing, occurring in up to 60% of skiing injuries. (32) Most ACL injuries in skiing result for hyperextension of the knee or twisting of the knee while the foot is planted in the boot. The twisting motion is known as valgus force.
Like most sports, women showed a higher frequency of injury to the ACL. In women who sustain a knee injury, 80% exhibit an ACL and/or MCL tear. Men exhibit 46% chance of an ACL and/or MCL tear.
The knee is the most commonly injured area of the body in basketball. For every 1000 athlete exposures, the knee injury rate is 0.7 in men. (30) In other words, for men's basketball, there's a 0.07% chance of injuring a knee. For a knee injury in basketball, on average one misses 20 exposures, accounting for the most time lost due to any injury.
National
Collegiate Athletic Association Frequency Data Anterior Cruciate
Ligament Injuries Figure
2. Total Injury and Knee Injury Summary for Basketball (1989-1993) Figure
6. Prevalence of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries Combined Date
(29 Institutions)
Soccer is one of the most popular sport in the work. Worldwide, there is an estimated 200 million active players. Soccer injuries are mainly confined to the ankle and the knee which are often caused by overuse. The frequency of soccer injuries is estimated at 10-35 per 1000 hours of competition, with the majority occurring in the lower extremities. Knee injuries account for 15-40% of soccer-related injuries. (33) Rugby
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This
figure represents the motion of a fall that could result in the
tearing of an ACL in skiing. The fall exerts a valgus force on the
knee in combination with external rotation causing the ACL to either
tear or sprain.
