During sports, more than 70% of ACL tears and other common injuries occur as a result of non-contact plays such as cutting, decelerating, pivoting, and landing awkwardly.
If 70% of injuries are non contact related, a premium must be placed on getting stronger, faster and more stable to combat the non contact forces that are placed on the body while playing sports.
Athletes who lack strength in their quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteal muscles are at a greater risk as these muscles act as both “speed accelerators” as well as “brakes” in abrupt stopping and starting movements in sports. When these muscles are weak, more stress is placed on the ligaments and tendons.
The prevalence of ACL injuries among female athletes is even higher as they are 3-4 times more likely to have this injury occur than male athletes. The disparity between female and male athletes is primarily contributed by anatomical differences in hip size as female hips tend to be wider in length than males. This length difference causes the femur (thigh bone) to meet the knee at a different angle than males which unfortunately can make the knee more vulnerable to injury.
Its inevitable that the highest levels of strength, speed and stability can’t always prevent injury but you can significantly reduce the probability of getting injured with more strength and speed.
Reducing athletic injuries boils down to one key thing……just good training. If athletes are on a good strength and conditioning program, not only will they be at a reduced risk of injury but they can execute their sport skills with more athleticism.
At Premier, we use multiple drills and movements with our system that trains the “accelerators” and “braking system” to be stronger, faster and more stable specific to the demands of sports. At the end of the day, being better equipped to handle the rigors of sports is the key to longevity in sport, having more confidence on the field and reaching peak performance.