Organic Authority: Dr. Tehrany explains why are women more prone to ACL injuries than men?

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The somewhat surprising fact that women are more prone to ACL tears has been extensively covered by numerous health and sports magazines and media outlets. Recently, the leading digital publication focused on nutrition, wellness, natural beauty, and everything related to a healthy lifestyle, Organic Authority, has published a story about the reasons why women are more likely to tear their ACL than men. For the purpose of the story, editor Brianne Hogan, reached out to Dr. Armin Tehrany, a highly experienced and profoundly knowledgeable knee doctor, to ask for his professional opinion and with the help of an expert, understand why women are prone to suffering from ACL injuries.

Reason number one: The anatomy of a woman’s body

According to Dr. Tehrany, one of the reasons for more ACL Injuries in women than men is the anatomy of a female body.
“The space around the ACL is smaller and narrower in women than men. Also, women have wider hips which leads to more stress on the ACL,” explains Dr. Tehrany.
Another reason is biomechanics. Women have more flexible and mobile knee joints than men, and the increased mobility results in a higher rate of ACL injuries. Moreover, the muscles that play a vital role for leg movements such as the hip, buttock, and thigh, may not be as strong and firm as in men, so the knee suffers from higher pressure while doing sports activities, and that leads to mild or severe ACL tears.

Hormones can be to blame

The menstrual cycle can be also a reason for the high number of ACL injuries in women.
“Studies have shown that women are more at risk of injuring their ACL during the pre-ovulatory phase of their menstrual cycle. It is believed that hormones have an effect on the extent of muscle stiffness and contractions of the knee. This, in turn, can make the knee more vulnerable to injury,” says Dr. Tehrany.

How to prevent ACL Injuries?

On the question of what is the best way for the ladies to prevent ACL injuries, Dr. Tehrany suggests “avoiding heavy impact, repetitive loads, and deep squats as well as high-impact sports like football, basketball, and soccer.” Further, in the interview, Dr. Tehrany highlights swimming as a perfectly safe fitness routine that has none or minimal impact to the knee. However, if any of the symptoms that suggest an ACL tear, such as popping sound, severe pain, loss of motion, and swelling, are experienced, the best way to proceed is to see an orthopedic doctor right away. You can read the complete story about why women are more prone to ACL injuries than men, here.