Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are common in soccer. Understanding ACL loading mechanisms and risk factors for ACL injury is critical for designing effective prevention programs. The purpose of this review is to summarize the relevant literature on ACL loading mechanisms, ACL injury risk factors, and current ACL injury prevention programs for soccer players. Literature has shown that tibial anterior translation due to shear force at the proximal end of tibia is the primary ACL loading mechanism. No evidence has been found showing that knee valgus moment is the primary ACL loading mechanism. ACL loading mechanisms are largely ignored in previous studies on risk factors for ACL injury. Identified risk factors have little connections to ACL loading mechanisms. The results of studies on ACL injury prevention programs for soccer players are inconsistent. Current ACL injury prevention programs for soccer players are clinically ineffective due to low compliance. Future studies are urgently needed to identify risk factors for ACL injury in soccer that are connected to ACL loading mechanisms and have cause-and-effect relationships with injury rate, and to develop new prevention programs to improve compliance.
This study evaluates the effects of training and detraining on ankle proprioception in terms of kinesthesia in adult women. Sixty participants were randomly assigned to three groups. Tai Chi and Brisk Walking Groups went through a 16-week training period followed by an eight-week detraining period. The ankle plantar-flexion, dorsal-flexion, inversion, and eversion kinesthesia were measured every four weeks. The ankle kinesthesia in plantar/dorsal flexion of both exercise groups decreased, but the Tai Chi Group decreased more and sooner than the Brisk Walking Group. The training effects of Tai Chi exercise were retained but diminished during the detraining. The training effects of Brisk Walking exercise were not retained. The kinesthesia of ankle inversion and eversion remained unchanged after training. The results suggest that Tai Chi exercise is more effective in training ankle proprioception in plantar and dorsal flexion and in retaining the training effects compared with Brisk Walking exercise.
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