Women are more likely to tear ligaments when playing sports than men.

Women are at greater risk of injury than men due to their body characteristics, muscle strength, and hormones.

An anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear is a condition in which the ligament is partially or completely torn when a sudden change in movement, tripping or falling causes the cruciate ligament to be stretched. This is one of the most common injuries when playing sports.

According to orthopedic trauma doctors, anterior cruciate ligament rupture during sports often occurs in women more than men, commonly between the ages of 15-45. At this time, the patient will feel pain, especially when trying to stand up straight and walk. In the first 24 hours after the injury, swelling will appear around the knee.

Women are more likely to tear their anterior cruciate ligament than men when playing sports such as badminton, tennis, soccer... Photo: Freepik

Dr. Tang Ha Nam Anh, Director of the Orthopedic Trauma Center, Tam Anh General Hospital System, said that women are more susceptible to anterior cruciate ligament rupture when playing sports than men, mainly due to their body structure. Research results on the knee muscle group show that the goose-foot muscle group behind the knee in women is less developed than the quadriceps muscle. Women's legs are also not developed evenly like men's.

In an analysis of the grounding postures of men and women when playing sports, it was found that women tend to stand up straight while men bend their knees and hips. This posture of men causes the body to contract, thereby reducing the impact force on the knees.

In addition, in women, the structure of the knee is more outward and the hip is more closed, so when landing, women's knees tend to bend inward, easily leading to damage to the anterior cruciate ligament. Some differences between women and men such as ligament size, the degree of defect in the femoral condyle, the concentration of hormones estrogen, progesterone, relaxin... are also considered factors that increase the risk of ligament damage in women.

At the World Conference on Sports Injuries held in Hong Kong, medical experts proposed a number of exercises to prevent anterior cruciate ligament rupture, especially in women, including: sudden acceleration and deceleration exercises; side-to-side and high jumps; exercises to land on both feet with knees bent and hips slightly bent to reduce the reaction force when landing... Some other exercises were also recommended such as: exercises to strengthen the goose leg muscles behind the knee to keep the knee stable behind, exercises to help develop muscles evenly in both legs.

Doctor Nam Anh (middle) during a surgery to treat ligament damage. Photo: Tam Anh General Hospital

Dr. Nam Anh added that, in addition to practicing exercises to improve leg strength, to prevent anterior cruciate ligament injuries, both women and men need to note: warm up thoroughly before playing sports, exercise moderately, and build a balanced diet and eat scientifically.

When detecting warning signs of ligament damage, patients should see a doctor for timely treatment, reducing the risk of developing complications such as meniscus tears, articular cartilage damage, anterior tibial plateau displacement causing knee instability, increasing the risk of knee arthritis and eventually early knee osteoarthritis complications. Depending on the severity of the damage, the doctor may prescribe conservative treatment or surgery.

In the case of surgery, the most appropriate time is between 7 and 60 days after the ligament rupture. Although there is a high risk of ACL rupture when playing sports, the success rate of ligament reconstruction and the ability to return to sports are the same for men and women.

Phi Hong

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