The Fact
A 2024 systematic review reports that female athletes are four to six times more likely than male athletes to sustain an ACL injury. The risk is especially important after puberty and involves anatomical, biomechanical and neuromuscular factors.
What This Means
The higher injury rate is not evidence that girls are bad athletes. Their bodies encounter different mechanical risks. If the frame and landing mechanics are different, training has to account for those differences.
An injury pattern this large is not trivia. It is evidence that female-specific biomechanics belong in ordinary coaching, gym class and injury prevention.
Sources
- Ramachandran AK et al. Sports Medicine. 2024. PMID: 38671176.