Many  athletes have experienced an ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) tear at least once in their careers, most especially basketball players, whose knees take immense pressure from their landing from a high jump or when they simply pivot and cut. 

However, for female athletes, that risk of tearing an ACL increases drastically. An ACL is the strong bands of tissue in the center of a person’s knee whose purpose is to maintain stability and prevent the shinbone from sliding too far up to the thigh bone.

“ACL injuries are particularly common in women’s sport,” chief of Yale Sports Medicine and ACL surgery specialist Dr. Christina Allen wrote on the National Public Radio. “Research shows female athletes are two to eight times more likely to tear their ACLs than male athletes.”

This is due to the biology and the body composition of females. For one, the female body is built to move in such a manner that puts pressure on the knee joints during movements such as quick cuts, pivots, or jumps. This is because of the female body having a wide pelvis in comparison to that of a male’s.

Furthermore, in terms of muscle, women often rely on their quadriceps which is the muscle located on the front of their thigh and less on their hamstrings which are located on the back of their thigh. This is technically a muscle imbalance in the legs which makes it difficult for female basketball athletes to stabilize their knees during quick movements.

“As women grow up, anatomical differences include different quad-to-hamstring ratios — women tend to be more quad-dominant,” guest orthopedic Dr. Allen from the National Public Radio said. “Alignment differences versus men, as well as foot pronation, also play a role.”

Finally, another reason why women are prone to ACL tears are due to the changes in hormones according to the National Library of Medicine. There is the hormone called relaxin which is mostly produced in the female body, women have higher relaxin levels in comparison to men. It causes the ligaments to become weaker and looser. Hence, making the ACL prone to danger.

Despite that, it is possible to prevent such injuries through prevention programs that mainly focus on strengthening the hamstrings which in return will help with landing upon jumping and will decrease the risk of an ACL tear. In addition, being aware of the hormonal changes within the body also helps as it lets the athletes know on how to adjust their training regimen.