Injury Prevention: ACL Tear and Concussion
Injury prevention programs are an essential factor in the
subject of performance enhancement. Over recent years both knee injury and
concussion have been two leading sports related injuries. The following is
discussion on why knee injury prevention and concussion prevention programs
should be implemented by coaches in all athletic departments.
“Effectiveness
of Knee Injury and Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tear Prevention Program A
Meta-Analysis” is a research, by Donnell-Fink et al. (2015), that examined twenty-four
studies in order to find the effects that neuromuscular and proprioceptive
training programs had on preventing ACL and other knee injuries. According to
the study, between ten to twenty-five percent of all sports related injuries
are knee injuries, women being more prone to knee injury than men. This is
equivalent to 250,000 ACL injuries in the United States each year leading to
80,000 reconstruction surgeries per year. The knee-injury prevention programs,
included in this study, were designed to reduce landing force, as well as,
improve adduction and abduction movement. The types of exercises included in
the program are stretching, strengthening and balance exercise. Research found
that neuromuscular and proprioceptive training reduced the risk of knee injury
by almost twenty-seven percent and ACL injuries by fifty-one percent. (Dontell-Fink
et al. 2015)
According
to a study by Caswell et al (2014), a smaller neck to head ratio can be a
leading cause to concussion in adolescents. The study suggests that because
adolescents have smaller neck-head circumference than adults, they are at a greater
risk for a concussion. Study has proven that increasing neck strength, as a
risk reduction strategy for concussion, increases head-neck stabilization which
reduces the force of a blow to the head. Head-neck stabilization programs
increase the anticipation of collision allowing adolescent athletes to brace
for impact. The type of exercises included in head-neck stabilization programs
comprised of neck flexion, neck extension, lateral flexion, and shoulder
shrugs. Each exercise is performed for three sets of fifteen repetition, three
days per week for ten weeks. (Caswell et al. 2014)
In summary,
research suggest that neuromuscular-proprioceptive knee injury prevention
program should be implemented by coaches of all athletic departments as part of
their injury prevention program. Further, head-neck strengthening programs
should also be implemented in order to reduce the risk of concussion in
adolescent athlete’s.
Reference:
Caswell, S. V.,
York, M., Ambegaonkar, J. P., Caswell, A. M., Cortes, N., & Turner, T.
(2014). Neck Strengthening Recommendations for Concussion Risk Reduction in
Youth Sport. International Journal Of Athletic Therapy & Training, 19(6),
22-27.
Donnell-Fink, L.
A., Klara, K., Collins, J. E., Yang, H. Y., Goczalk, M. G., Katz, J. N., &
Losina, E. (2015). Effectiveness of Knee Injury and Anterior Cruciate Ligament
Tear Prevention Programs: A Meta-Analysis. Doi:10.1371/Journal.Pone.0144063,
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0144063
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