How Do You Prevent An ACL Injury?
Injury to your anterior cruciate ligament can put you on the sidelines of your favorite sports for months and months. In some cases, ACL injuries require surgical repair which may leave your knee weakened for a long time to come. Sports doctors recommend strengthening exercises to help you prevent an ACL injury. Replace your normal warm-up routine with the special ACL conditioning warm-up created by orthopedic surgeons. Jog between two cones. Experts state that this allows for muscle warm-up without creating undue stress on the ACL and other knee ligaments. Keep the proper form while jogging. The hips, knees and ankles should always be on the same plane–this will help avoid overextension of the knees. Spend a minute or two doing shuttle runs builds up hip strength. Begin by standing with knees slightly bent and sidestep with one foot over the other. At the end of the field, begin with the other foot first. Run across the field backwards. This will help build up your hamstring muscles.
