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Women and ACL
October 9, 2007
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It’s a painful knee injury that local orthopedists deal with almost daily. But research
now shows that women may be more prone than men to ACL tears. Christina Thomas has
been a dancer for about 13 years. She says it’s a good way to express herself. But
a torn ligament recently brought one of Christina’s performances to a painful halt.
“I was doing a turn combination and I really don’t know how it happened but out
of nowhere my leg just went out from under me. I went to go offstage and I couldn’t
put any weight on it so I kind of just hopped offstage,” says Thomas.
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Andy Follweiler describes the injury as, “the Anterior Cruciate
Ligament which is the main ligament in the knee that you hear about quite a bit.
It’s responsible for keeping the two bones in the knee together so that they move
as a unit. If this ligament is torn it’s common for there to be instability in the
knee”.
Thomas says she experienced that pain instability and more. “I really couldn’t straighten
or bend my leg because it hurt so bad. It felt like a knife was being stabbed into
my leg.”
Research shows that Thomas was likely more prone to an A.C.L injury than many of
her fellow dancers simply because she is a woman. “It’s quite more common actually
almost two and a half times more common in females to tear the A.C.L,” says Dr.
Follweiler.
Although painful, physicians say you can usually bounce back from an A.C.L tear
after surgery and a few months of rehabilitation. Thomas says she’s healing very
well and that her pain is fading away. “It just hurts when I run or pivot but just
straight on walking there’s really no pain”.
Estrogen’s affect on ligaments and the unique bone formations in a woman’s lower
body can factor in to A.C.L injuries. If you hear a loud pop when injuring your knee it’s likely an A.C.L tear and you should
see a physician right away for treatment.
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