SPORTS RELATED TO ACL INJURIES
What sport has the highest percentage of ACL tears?
To answer this question wisely, it is best to regroup sports into three distinct categories as the causes of ACL injuries rely on movements applied on the knee while performing them:
- High-demand sports.
- Moderate-demand sports.
- Low-demand sports.
ACL injuries happen when the knee joint is bent backwards, twisted or bent side to side. Generally, high-demand sports are the kind of sports that require jumping, stop-and-go in a small amount of time or moving from side to side to avoid other players or obstacles. On the other hand, low-demand sports are the sports that require no contact and twisting movements that would put the ACL under stress. Therefore, ACL reconstruction surgery and using an arthrometer during ACL rehabilitation is well advised for patients who participate in high-demand sports, as knee stability is fundamental for performance.
It is true to say that some sports are more often associated with ACL injuries but this is due to the fact that some of them are practised by a bigger amount people around the world thus increasing the number of injuries. Consequently, it should be noted that the probability of tearing the ACL while performing high-demand sports relatively stays the same with some exceptions.
Below is a tables chart showing different sports in their respective categories:
| High-demand sports | Moderate-demand sports | Low-demande sports | |
| Football | x | ||
| Basketball | x | ||
| American Football | x | ||
| Rugby | x | ||
| Handball | x | ||
| Skiing | x | ||
| Hockey | x | ||
| Volleyball | x | ||
| Wrestling | x | ||
| Boxing | x | ||
| Gymnastics | x | ||
| Figure skating | x | ||
| Tennis | x (Singles) | x (Doubles) | |
| Baseball | x | ||
| Track running | x | ||
| Jogging | x | ||
| Swimming | x | ||
| Cycling | x |