The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a major stabilizing structure of the knee. Injury to the ACL can lead to joint instability during landing and pivoting tasks. It is particularly devastating to athletes because it is often season ending and sometimes career ending with long-term consequences including knee joint instability and osteoarthritis. In athletic populations, ACL reconstruction is often required to restore stability to the joint followed by 6-12 months of rehabilitation. Injuries classified as noncontact are of particular interest because they are two to five times more prevalent in female athletes and result from a mechanism that does not involve direct contact to the knee.
ACL Project Prevent began in 2005 as a 3-year research study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The primary objective of this study was to identify sex specific movement patterns that predispose female athletes to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries during sport activities and to determine the influence of maturation on the development of these movement patterns. Analysis of data from over 150 male and female soccer players, ages 8-26, provided important insights into potentially injurious movement patterns and the emergence of these patterns across stages of maturation (work published in citations below). This work continues through several specific projects listed below. Collectively, this body of work contributed to recommendations for the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Position Statement: Prevention of Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Injury.
Related Projects:
Whole body Mechanics of Running Turn Maneuvers: Relationship to Injury and Performance
The Development of Postural Strategies Necessary for Dynamic Activities
Related publications:
- Padua D, DiStefano L, Hewett T, Garrett W, Marshall S, Gilchrist J, Golden G, Shultz S, and Sigward S. National Athletic Trainers’ Association Position Statement: Prevention of Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Injury. Journal of Athletic Training, 53(1):5-19, 2018
- Pollard CD, Sigward SM, Powers CM. ACL Injury Prevention Training Results in Modification of Hip and Knee Mechanics During a Drop-landing Task. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, 5:2325967117726267: 7/9/2017
- Sigward SM, Pollard CD, Havens KL, Powers CM. The influence of Sex and Maturation on Knee Mechanics During Side-step Cutting. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 44(8):1497-503, 2012
- Sigward SM, Pollard CD, Powers CM. The Influence of Sex and Maturation on Landing Biomechanics: Implications for ACL Injury. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 22(4):502-9, 2012
- Lyle MA, Sigward SM, Tsai L-C, Pollard CD, Powers CM. The influence of Maturation and Lower Extremity Biomechanics on Peak Foot Velocity in Young Females During a Soccer Kick. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 43(10):1948-1954, 2011.
- Sigward SM, Havens KH, Powers CM. The relation between knee separation distance and lower extremity kinematics during a drop land: Implications for clinical screening. Journal of Athletic Training, 46(5): 471-75, 2011
- Shultz SJ, Schmitz RJ, Nguyen A-D, Chaundhari AM, Padua DA, McLean SG, Sigward SM. ACL Research Retreat V: An Update on ACL Injury Risk and Prevention, March 25-27, 2010, Greensboro, NC. Journal of Athletic Training, 45(5):499-508, 2010.
- Pollard CD, Sigward SM, Powers CM. Limited Hip and Knee Flexion During Landing is Associated with Increased Frontal Plane Knee Motion and Moments. Clinical Biomechanics, 25(3):142-46, 2010.
- Tsai L-C, Sigward SM, Pollard CD, Fletcher MJ, Powers CM. The Effects of Fatigue and Recovery on Knee Mechanics During Side-Step Cutting. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 41(10):1952-1957,2009
- Sigward SM, Ota S, Powers CM. Predictors of Frontal Plane Knee Excursion During a Drop Land in Young Female Athletes. Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy, 38(11):661-667, 2008
- Sigward SM, Powers CM. Loading Characteristics of Females Who Exhibit Excessive Valgus Moments During Cutting. Clinical Biomechanics, 22(7):827-33, 2007.
- Pollard CD, Sigward SM, Powers CM. Gender Differences in Hip Joint Kinematics and Kinetics During a Side-step Cutting Maneuver. Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine, 17: 38-42, 2007.
- Sigward S, Powers C. The Influence of Gender on Knee Kinematics, Kinetics and Muscle Activation Patterns During Side-step Cutting. Clinical Biomechanics, 21(1):41-8, 2006.
- Sigward SM, Powers CM. The Influence of Experience on Knee Mechanics During Side-step Cutting. Clinical Biomechanics, 21(7):740-7, 2006.
- Pollard CD, Sigward SM, Ota S, Langford K, Powers CM. The Influence of In-season Injury Prevention Training on Lower Extremity Kinematics During Landing in Female Soccer Players. Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine, 16(3):223-7, 2006.