Do women suffer from a higher percentage of ACL injuries?
Dr. Souryal: Yes. Over the last five to 10 years, we’ve stumbled onto the fact that the ACL injury rate in women is twice as high as it is in men. In 1988, a study was done looking at predisposing factors for ACL injuries in general. At that time, gender was not considered a predisposition. What we found was that there was a structural predisposition that is detectable on an X-ray. Some people are born with a narrow tunnel that entraps the ACL. In a follow-up study done in 1992, we discovered that women have a propensity for this type of structure and as a result were more likely to suffer injuries to the ACL. Since then, the subject of women and ACL injuries has become a hot topic. But I think there is more to it than bone structure.
