New England

What Female Tennis Players Need To Know About ACL Injuries

By Michael Kuhn, MD, Sports Medicine Surgeon at Middlesex Orthopedic & Spine Associates | December 11, 2023

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears are common sports medicine injuries that can occur when athletes cut or pivot suddenly.

This issue has plagued women’s sports, especially young females. Female athletes are about three times more likely to injure their ACL when compared to their male counterparts.

By definition, females have less hamstring and gluteal muscle development. Structurally, estrogen found in females can cause ligament laxity, which means the ACL itself is looser. This is especially prevalent in the youth population.

How can ACL injuries occur on the court?

Tennis players are constantly cutting, twisting, planting, and turning on a hard surface, subjecting their knees to unique forces that they’re not prepared to handle.

How can a young female tennis player protect against ACL injuries?

There are many ACL injury prevention programs out there that focus on landing and jumping training. Repetitive learning is key to becoming skilled at landing safely, which is a major step towards decreasing risk. Also, group strength classes can be incredibly helpful. Keeping the hamstring balanced helps protect the ACL. While you can’t completely prevent at-risk behaviors as an athlete, you can decrease the risk associated with these behaviors by working on your core, jumping and landing better, and strengthening gluteal and hamstring muscles.

How do you know if you’ve torn your ACL?

It’s usually not a surprise. You will experience pain - or even hear a pop - and feel like your knee has given out. Often, the knee will swell within the hour. Even if you can walk it off immediately, you might not be able to later in the day.

Dr. Michael Kuhn says ACL injuries are around three times more common in female athletes.

If you fear that you’ve torn your ACL, what should you do next?

If you believe you’ve experienced a tear, your next steps depend on if you can bear weight on the injured leg. If you can, call your orthopedic surgeon for an appointment. A sports medicine surgeon has the most experience with these types of injuries and treatments. If you cannot bear any weight at all, it’s best to go to the Emergency Room or an Urgent Care to be evaluated quickly to rule out any additional injuries, such as fractures.

How will your injury be evaluated and treated?

Your physician will perform a thorough physical examination as well as order an MRI to diagnose the tear and see if there are any meniscal or cartilage injuries.

As a doctor, my goal is to get your swelling down, and help you regain your motion and strength as quickly as possible. While conservative treatment options can be useful for minor ACL injuries, my recommendation is that youth athletes with ACL tears undergo surgery. I believe this is the best way to fix the instability of the tear and protect the meniscus and cartilage. Both are shock absorbers of the knee so if the ACL is torn for any period of time, each becomes more likely to tear and more difficult to reconstruct.

I typically send my patients to prehab - which is physical therapy prior to surgery - to set them up for success post-surgery. The exact surgical methods will be tailored to each individual patient. Typically, young female athletes do best with ACL reconstruction surgery using autografts, which are tendons from the patient’s own body.

When can I get back to playing?

ACL reconstructions are incredibly successful (over 90%), yet athletes need to trust their own knee to return to their level of play, usually after about 6+ months.

Experiencing an ACL tear can increase your risk of arthritis in the future. The longer the ACL stays torn, the higher the arthritis risk.

As a young female tennis player, it’s important to recognize that at-risk behaviors are inherent to the sport. So, work closely with a physical therapist and/or trainer who is well-versed in both tennis and treating female athletes. They are great resources to help you with balance and strength training, which are key for both injury prevention and injury rehabilitation.

Spire Orthopedic Partners and its network of practices are the Exclusive Orthopedic Partners of USTA New England. Orthopaedic & Neurosurgery Specialists is the leading orthopedic, sports medicine and neurosurgery practice serving the Fairfield County, CT and Westchester, NY communities.

Tournaments
Programs

TOURNAMENTS NEAR YOU

PROGRAMS NEAR YOU

Skip Advertisement

Colburn Wins Scholarship
August 25, 2023

The University of Southern Maine (USM) is gaining something truly special with incoming freshman, Clare Colburn. The recent Lincoln Academy graduate has grown into a natural leader both on the tennis courts and off, and it’s largely thanks to her small community of Damariscotta, ME and those around her throughout her childhood. Read More
July Captains of the Month
August 15, 2023

Congratulations to the July USTA League Captains of the Month, Sam Rubin, of Brookline, MA and Hilary Holm, of Whitefield, ME! Sam Rubin started as a Social Tennis League player, where he’s played in Boston area sites for years. It was there he found out about the opportunity to serve as a captain of the 18-39 league out of Eastern Mass. This past winter, Sam led his team, which competed at Sportsmen’s Tennis & Enrichment Center in Dorchester, to a first-place finish. Read More
NE Wins Friendship Cup
August 14, 2023

The Friendship Cup has a rich history and successful story of establishing international camaraderie and sisterhood both on and off the court. The tradition started in 1967 when Walter Foeger of Vermont was looking to establish competitive senior tennis play in alliance with the New England Lawn Tennis Association (NELTA), now USTA New England. He contacted George Barta of the Canadian senior division, and together, they created the Friendship Cup. In that year, players competed on three courts at the Jay Peak Resort in Vermont. Read More