Mechanisms of anterior cruciate ligament injuries in elite women’s netball: a systematic video analysis

Abstract

This study involved a systematic video analysis of 16 anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries sustained by elite-level netball players during televised games in order to describe the game situation, the movement patterns involved, the player's behaviour, and a potential injury mechanism. Eight of the ACL injuries were classified as "indirect contact" and eight as "non-contact". Two common scenarios were identified. In Scenario A the player was jumping to receive or intercept a pass and whilst competing for the ball experienced a perturbation in the air. As a result the player's landing was unbalanced with loading occurring predominantly on the knee of the injured side. In Scenario B the player was generally in a good position at ground contact, but then noticeably altered the alignment of the trunk before the landing was completed. This involved rotating and laterally flexing the trunk without altering the alignment of the feet. Apparent knee valgus collapse on the knee of the injured side was observed in 3/6 Scenario A cases and 5/6 Scenario B cases. Players may benefit from landing training programmes that incorporate tasks that use a ball and include decision-making components or require players to learn to cope with being unbalanced.

Efficacy of ACL injury risk screening methods in identifying high‐risk landing patterns during a sport‐specific task

“…Sport‐specific variations in athletic maneuvers can also have a modulating effect on lower limb mechanics (Chaudhari et al., ; Fedie et al., ). Non‐contact ACL injuries within female netball are most commonly observed during landing movements while attempting to catch a pass (Stuelcken et al., ), similar to the sport‐specific task examined within this study. Therefore, screening methods that can identify athletes who perform this high‐risk task with lower limb mechanics associated with increased ACL loads or injury risk may be more effective in a netball‐specific context.…”

“…This may be an important factor in the efficacy of a screening method in identifying athletes at‐risk of ACL injury. While the mechanism for non‐contact ACL injuries appears consistent across sports, the tasks being performed in the lead up or at the injury event may differ (Myklebust et al., ; Stuelcken et al., ). Sport‐specific variations in athletic maneuvers can also have a modulating effect on lower limb mechanics (Chaudhari et al., ; Fedie et al., ).…”

“…Previous work has shown these generic tasks do not adequately represent those seen in a competitive sporting environment (Edwards et al., ; Kristianslund & Krosshaug, ). In addition, non‐contact ACL injuries occur almost exclusively during unilateral landing or plant‐and‐cut maneuvers (Olsen et al., ; Stuelcken et al., ). The efficacy of a screening method in identifying athletes' at‐risk of ACL injury may be dependent on its capacity to identify those who perform unilateral sporting maneuvers associated with ACL injury occurrences with high‐risk lower limb mechanics.…”

Mechanisms of ACL injury in professional rugby union: a systematic video analysis of 36 cases

“…In contrast video analysis allows researchers to study playing situations preceding and during injury, as well as comparisons between injury and control groups. Several video analysis studies of ACL rupture in football,13 14 handball,15 basketball,16 Australian football,17 alpine skiing,18 and netball19 have been reported. Therefore, we aimed to use retrospective video analysis to describe ACL injury mechanisms in rugby.…”

Validity and Reliability of a Virtual Reality Game in Evaluating the Projected Frontal Plane Knee Angle When Landing From a Drop Vertical Jump

“…1,2 This movement, typified by rapid excessive knee abduction, is exhibited more frequently and to higher magnitudes in females than males. 3 It is therefore not surprising that female adolescent athletes are four-to six-times more likely to suffer an ACL injury than their male counterparts.…”