Waikato Herald
  • Waikato Herald home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Rural
  • Lifestyle
  • Lotto results

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Lifestyle
  • Lotto results

Locations

  • Hamilton
  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Matamata & Piako
  • Cambridge
  • Te Awamutu
  • Tokoroa & South Waikato
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Weather

  • Thames
  • Hamilton
  • Tokoroa
  • Taumarunui
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Waikato News / Lifestyle

Ask Dr Gary: Reduce your risk of injury

Hamilton News
28 Nov, 2012 05:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

With the soccer and netball seasons over, the steady stream of knee injuries presenting to the emergency department has eased. I thought this may be a good time to share some information about a common knee injury, the ACL tear, and discuss some ways of preventing these injuries.

We've all heard about anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, tears ending careers in professional athletes. But most of us are unaware that the highest risk group is recreational female athletes aged 15 to 25. This group is five times more likely to suffer ACL tears than men. These injuries typically occur in sports involving sudden changes of direction, such as soccer, hockey and netball, but can also result from hard landings after jumps or even direct blows to the knee.

The ACL is located in the middle of the knee, connecting the back of the femur (thighbone) to the front of the tibia (shinbone).

Knees are weak and wobbly joints and it's up to the ligaments to keep the knee from buckling. The ACL acts as a tether, keeping the shin from sliding forward of the thigh.

There are lots of theories as to why females are especially susceptible, but it probably comes down to several factors. Female hips are wider than men's, creating a slant to the thighbones that makes women a few degrees more knock-kneed than men. Under the strain of landing from a jump, this increased angulation forces the knee inward, straining the ACL.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Female athletes have weaker and slower-to-activate hamstring muscles than men. Hamstrings act as shock absorbers for the ACL and when they're weaker the ligaments have to absorb more of the strain. Weaker muscles combined with increased flexibility and more mobile joints also contributes to increased risk of ACL tears in women.

Oestrogen, which affects the stretchiness and strength of connective tissue, also probably plays a role in ACL tears.

Whatever the mechanism, the rates of ACL tears among young female athletes are high and are increasing. For many this will mean time off and a lengthy rehabilitation; for others it will mean surgery or giving up their chosen sport. Next week we'll discuss preventing ACL tears.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Lifestyle

Lifestyle

Watch: The latest highlights from Smokefreerockquest and Showquest

Waikato Herald

NZ actress accuses Australian policeman of using CCTV to spy on her

Lifestyle

Watch: Smokefreerockquest and Showquest's finals around the motu


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Lifestyle

Watch: The latest highlights from Smokefreerockquest and Showquest
Lifestyle

Watch: The latest highlights from Smokefreerockquest and Showquest

Regional finals from Auckland, Canterbury, Far North, Northland, Nelson and Wairarapa.

14 Jul 10:25 PM
NZ actress accuses Australian policeman of using CCTV to spy on her
Waikato Herald

NZ actress accuses Australian policeman of using CCTV to spy on her

06 Jul 12:48 AM
Watch: Smokefreerockquest and Showquest's finals around the motu
Lifestyle

Watch: Smokefreerockquest and Showquest's finals around the motu

03 Jul 06:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Waikato Herald e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Waikato Herald
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP