-
May 12, 2008 7:15 am US/Eastern
-
Digg |
Facebook |
E-mail
|
Print
ACL Injuries Becoming More Common In Girls
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
Leah Bagonis loves soccer. She'll kick a ball around almost anywhere, but not long ago, she was sidelined by an injury. "I was playing soccer and I was trying to save a ball that was going out of bounds. I lost my balance and my knee just twisted and I heard a pop," she said.
The diagnosis was a torn ACL. That's the anterior cruciate ligament that stabilizes the joint.
An ACL tear is a fairly common injury, but not in children. "It was previously felt that an ACL injury was an adult injury and that children could break a bone, but would not get an ACL rupture," explained Dr. Ted Ganley of the American Academy of Orthopedic Sports Surgeons.
Dr. Ganley specializes in sports medicine for children. "We used to see one every month or so. Now we see several in a week," he said.
Doctors are seeing this more frequently in girls than boys. "It's been shown that females are up to three to eight-fold risk for ACL injuries," said Dr. Ganley.
Studies have looked into why the girls have a greater risk. It's partially due to strength and hormone issues, but it's also because of the way girls play. "Females can land with more of a knock knee alignment," explained Dr. Ganley.
Girls can help prevent ACL tears by working on flexibility and balance training. But that's no guarantee.
The treatment for an ACL injury in a child can include surgery, depending on how much growing the child has left to do. In all cases, the injured child is told to stop all play, wear a brace and start rehab.
Leah had surgery and rehab. It was eight months before she could get back into the game. Now she says she's stronger than ever. "I can do everything. I mean, I can pivot like I did before. I can turn. I can kick like I did before," she said. "But sometimes I do get nervous," she admitted.
Doctors say the risk of an ACL should not prevent girls from taking part in athletics. They say the benefits of physical activity far outweigh the risk of injury.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)