Risk factors for anterior cruciate ligament injury: The female gender | Les facteurs de risques de rupture du ligament croisé antérieur: Le genre féminin (original) (raw)

ABSTRACT Introduction Ligament reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the most frequent arthroscopic procedures. According to the Technical Agency for Information on Hospitalizations (ATIH) 41,122 ligament reconstructions were performed in France in 2012. Treatment of the injury is costly and not always successful at returning patients to their preinjury activity level. Identification of all factors associated with increased risk of ACL injury during sport is important to provide an appropriate level of counseling and programs for prevention. These factors have been categorized as intrinsic (inherent to the individual athlete) or extrinsic (external to the athlete). Risk of ACL injury in female athletes depending on sports Female athletes have been identified at increased risk of injuring their ACL during certain sports, with reported injury rates that are 3.6 times greater for basketball and 5.1 times greater for handball when compared with male athletes who participate in these sports at similar levels of play. Extrinsic risk factors Several extrinsic factors seem increase the risk of ACL injury in both female and male athletes with a slightly increased risk in female: competition, wet and rainy weather, the type and number of cleats, the design of the shoe, the type of grass, artificial grass or floor surface and previous ACL reconstruction. Intrinsic risk factors Several anatomic risk factors have been identified, mainly an increased anterior-posterior knee laxity, a smaller intercondylar notch width with a shorter ACL, and a greater condyle offset ratio. Neuromuscular and biomechanical risk factors are also involved as increased dynamic valgus and muscle and proprioceptive deficit of the non-dominant leg in female. The hormonal theory is based on several reports of elevated ACL tear rates in pre- as compared to postovulatory phase. Other risk factors were evocated: a familial predisposition to noncontact ACL tears, genetic factors and a higher body mass index. Multivariate risk factor analysis Given the multiplicity of risk factors it seems important to develop multivariable models but very few studies have followed this approach. Conclusion Several intrinsic factors may explain the sex-ration in ACL tear but intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors act in combination to increase the risk of ACL injury. The identification of these factors has led to the development of appropriate prevention programs with good but still insufficient results. Optimizing prevention requires the organization of large cohort studies for each sport, involving all participants. A generalization of multivariate statistical analyzes would take into account the possible interactions and to quantify the risk for each factor. Comprehensive prevention programs specific to each sport, incorporating all the factors, could then be developed.