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Using a neuromuscular training program may have a direct benefit in decreasing the number of anterior cruciate ligament injuries in female soccer players.

The incidence of noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injuries in young to middle-aged athletes remains high. Despite early diagnosis and appropriate operative and nonoperative treatments, posttraumatic degenerative arthritis may develop. In a meeting in Atlanta, Georgia (January 2005), sponsored by the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, a group of physicians, physical therapists, athletic trainers, biomechanists, epidemiologists, and other scientists interested in this area of research met to review current knowledge on risk factors associated with noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injuries, anterior cruciate ligament injury biomechanics, and existing anterior cruciate ligament prevention programs. This article reports on the presentations, discussions, and recommendations of this group.

The LESS is a valid and reliable tool for identifying potentially high-risk movement patterns during a jump-landing task.

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The incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury remains high in young athletes. Because female athletes have a much higher incidence of ACL injuries in sports such as basketball and team handball than male athletes, the IOC Medical Commission invited a multidisciplinary group of ACL expert clinicians and scientists to (1) review current evidence including data from the new Scandinavian ACL registries; (2) critically evaluate highquality studies of injury mechanics; (3) consider the key elements of successful prevention programmes; (4) summarise clinical management including surgery and conservative management; and (5) identify areas for further research. Risk factors for female athletes suffering ACL injury include: (1) being in the preovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle compared with the postovulatory phase; (2) having decreased intercondylar notch width on plain radiography; and (3) developing increased knee abduction moment (a valgus intersegmental torque) during impact on landing. Well-designed injury prevention programmes reduce the risk of ACL for athletes, particularly women. These programmes attempt to alter dynamic loading of the tibiofemoral joint through neuromuscular and proprioceptive training. They emphasise proper landing and cutting techniques. This includes landing softly on the forefoot and rolling back to the rearfoot, engaging knee and hip flexion and, where possible, landing on two feet. Players are trained to avoid excessive dynamic valgus of the knee and to focus on the ''knee over toe position'' when cutting.The incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury remains high, especially in young athletes aged 14-19 years. In spite of the fact that some successful prevention programmes have been introduced, ACL injury continues to be the largest single problem in orthopaedic sports medicine, with the incidence of non-contact ACL tears being much higher in female athletes in sports such as basketball and team handball than in male athletes.As ACL injury remains a significant problem, especially in young female athletes, procedures for improved prevention and management are needed. The mechanism of ACL injury is an important focus of discussion, as an ACL tear is more often a non-contact event with a deceleration or a change of direction manoeuvre than a contact or direct blow injury. A prophylactic neuromuscular and proprioceptive training programme may reduce the number of ACL injuries in female athletes.The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Jacques Rogge stated in 2001 that ''the most important goal of the IOC Medical Commission is to protect the health of the athlete''. The IOC Medical Commission therefore invited a group of physicians, physical therapists, biomechanists and scientists active in ACL research to review current evidence relating to risk factors, prevention programmes and the need for further research concerning non-contact ACL injury in young female athletes. EPIDEMIOLOGY OF ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT INJURIESThe incidence of ACL ...

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Despite evolutionary changes in protective equipment, head injury remains common in football. We investigated concussion in football and associated epidemiologic issues such as 1) incidence of injury, 2) common signs and symptoms, and 3) patterns in making return-to-play decisions. We received 242 of 392 surveys (62%) that were sent to high school and collegiate certified athletic trainers at the beginning of three football seasons. Of the 17,549 football players represented, 888 (5.1%) sustained at least one concussion, and 131 (14.7% of the 888) sustained a second injury during the same season. The greatest incidence of concussion was found at the high school (5.6%) and collegiate division III (5.5%) levels, suggesting that there is an association between level of play and the proportion of players injured. Players who sustained one concussion in a season were three times more likely to sustain a second concussion in the same season compared with uninjured players. Contact with artificial turf appears to be associated with a more serious concussion than contact with natural grass. Only 8.9% of all injuries involved loss of consciousness, while 86% involved a headache. Overall, 30.8% of all players sustaining a concussion returned to participation on the same day of injury.