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. 2014 Jan;22(1):3-15.
doi: 10.1007/s00167-013-2725-3. Epub 2013 Oct 25.

Prevention of anterior cruciate ligament injuries in sports. Part I: systematic review of risk factors in male athletes

Eduard Alentorn-Geli  1 , Jurdan Mendiguchía, Kristian Samuelsson, Volker Musahl, Jon Karlsson, Ramon Cugat, Gregory D Myer
Affiliations

Prevention of anterior cruciate ligament injuries in sports. Part I: systematic review of risk factors in male athletes

Eduard Alentorn-Geli et al. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2014 Jan.

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to report a comprehensive literature review on the risk factors for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in male athletes.

Methods: All abstracts were read and articles of potential interest were reviewed in detail to determine on inclusion status for systematic review. Information regarding risk factors for ACL injuries in male athletes was extracted from all included studies in systematic fashion and classified as environmental, anatomical, hormonal, neuromuscular, or biomechanical. Data extraction involved general characteristics of the included studies (type of study, characteristics of the sample, type of sport), methodological aspects (for quality assessment), and the principal results for each type of risk factor.

Results: The principal findings of this systematic review related to the risk factors for ACL injury in male athletes are: (1) most of the evidence is related to environmental and anatomical risk factors; (2) dry weather conditions may increase the risk of non-contact ACL injuries in male athletes; (3) artificial turf may increase the risk of non-contact ACL injuries in male athletes; (4) higher posterior tibial slope of the lateral tibial plateau may increase the risk of non-contact ACL injuries in male athletes.

Conclusion: Anterior cruciate ligament injury in male athletes likely has a multi-factorial aetiology. There is a lack of evidence regarding neuromuscular and biomechanical risk factors for ACL injury in male athletes. Future research in male populations is warranted to provide adequate prevention strategies aimed to decrease the risk of this serious injury in these populations.

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