Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury in Collegiate Female Dancers

ABOUT 80,000 to 250,000 anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries of the knee occur annually, with many of these injuries affecting individuals between the ages of 15-25 years.1 The majority of ACL injuries are noncontact in nature,2,3 with landing and plant-and- cut maneuvers being the most common activities associated with it.4 Females participating in sports that involve jump landing and plant-and-cut type activities have a risk level that is 3-8 times greater than that for males during similar activities.3,4 Anatomical, hormonal, neuromuscular, and biomechanical differences have been suggested to be the major factors that explain this injury bias.1,5,6