One of the most common injuries in the soccer field are ACL tears. The ACL stands for the Anterior Cruciate Ligament, which lies in the knee. This ligament is responsible for keeping your knee stable during deceleration and change of direction. There are two common scenarios for the ACL to be torn. Scenario 1: Two players are running toward a ball, the defender slide tackles and collides with the attackers lower leg causing a torque on the knee and subsequent ACL tear. Scenario 2: A player is defending, they get beat and must quickly cut and turn to keep their mark, in that quick turn and pivot they feel an intense pain in their knee with a “popping” sound. Scenario 2 tends to be the most common cause of ACL tears. The good news is that this non-contact scenario (Scenario #2) is preventable with ACL prevention training.

Research has shown us that one of the biggest determinants of predicting ACL tears are knee angles. This means that if your knees cave in, referred to as knee valgus, when you jump, run or cut you might have a high risk of experiencing an ACL tear. There are different ways of determining if you indeed have this knee valgus phenomenon through video analysis or bare observation. Your physical therapist will perform a movement analysis and determine if you fit into this category.

You would think that since the problem lies in your knees, you can just strengthen your knee muscles and you should be golden. Right? Not quite. Sure, it will not hurt to strengthen your thighs, but you will not fix the problem. Your hips, specifically your glutes (your booty), have a huge impact on the way your knees work. Knowing how to strengthen your hip muscles to improve your knee stability is key in preventing ACL tears.

Want to bullet proof your knees and avoid an ACL tear? Maybe you have an ACL tear and want to return to soccer or your sport without re-tearing the ACL? Click below to speak to an ACL specialist today!