Hands-on Workshop at Cincinnati Children’s To Focus on ACL Injury Prevention in Female Athletes

Wednesday, February 01, 2012

Though injuries such as sprains and fractures are common among all athletes, females are up to five times more likely to suffer a tear to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) than their male counterparts.

That’s why the Sports Medicine Biodynamics Center at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center will host the seventh annual ACL Workshop, on Saturday, November 7, 2009, for medical professionals, coaches and students interested in learning about prevention and rehabilitation of knee injuries in female athletes.

“Increased relative quadriceps to hamstrings muscle activity contributes to the higher risk of this type of knee injury in women and girls,” says Tim Hewett, PhD, professor and director of sports medicine at Cincinnati Children’s. “Core muscle control and dynamic frontal plane knee angle are also factors we consider when determining if an athlete is pre-disposed to suffer an ACL injury.”

The hands-on workshop, beginning at 8 a.m., will be lead by the sports medicine team at Cincinnati Children’s and the University of Cincinnati. Presentations will detail the latest prevention programs for female athletes and will utilize 3D motion analysis to teach athlete screening techniques. Participants will also learn neuromuscular training methods that focus on core muscle strengthening, as well as proper knee control and landing techniques.

“We host this conference every year because we want to give the people who spend time with these athletes the knowledge to spot particularly high-risk motions and behaviors that can be corrected before an injury occurs,” says Dr. Hewett. “There are over 3 million female high school athletes in the United States and millions in middle school and college too. That’s a lot of knees and a lot of potential ACL tears that we’d like to help prevent.”

Registration for the workshop is open until the beginning of the program November 7. Anyone interested in attending should contact Jennifer Hauer, 513-636-1246 or jennifer.hauer@cchmc.org. Discounted registration fees are available for students.

About Cincinnati Children’s

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center is one of 10 children’s hospitals in the United States to make the Honor Roll in U.S. News and World Reports 2009-10 America’s Best Children’s Hospitals issue. It is #1 ranked for digestive disorders and is also highly ranked for its expertise in respiratory diseases, cancer, neonatal care, heart care, neurosurgery, diabetes, orthopedics, kidney disorders and urology. One of the three largest children’s hospitals in the U.S., Cincinnati Children’s is affiliated with the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and is one of the top two recipients of pediatric research grants from the National Institutes of Health.

President Barack Obama in June 2009 cited Cincinnati Children’s as an “island of excellence” in health care. For its achievements in transforming health care, Cincinnati Children’s is one of six U.S. hospitals since 2002 to be awarded the American Hospital Association-McKesson Quest for Quality Prize for leadership and innovation in quality, safety and commitment to patient care. The hospital is a national and international referral center for complex cases. Additional information can be found at www.cincinnatichildrens.org.