Effectiveness of a Novel Warm-up in Decreasing Risk Factors for ACL Injury in Female Youth Soccer Players

There is a large number of young women who sustain serious knee injuries from playing soccer. Female athletes are at high risk of knee injuries from soccer than males. We will conduct a research project to assess the effect of a warm-up on changing some of the movement patterns thought to contribute to these serious knee injuries.

A core position and control movement strategy (Core-PAC) may be one method of modifying high-risk movements such as side-cutting. The Core-PAC is a simple method of getting the centre of mass (COM) closer to the plant foot or base of support (BOS). Moving the COM closer to the BOS may bias joint loading to the sagittal rather than the frontal and transverse planes, which often occurs in female athletes and poses a risk for ACL injury.

In this study, we will conduct a randomized controlled trial to compare a Core-PAC trained group to a control group for peak flexion angles and peak abduction moments at the knee during a side-cut and an unanticipated side-cut prior to kicking a soccer ball and a side-hop task after a six-week training program.

It is hypothesized that a Core-PAC group would have greater peak flexion angles and lower peak abduction moments at the knee compared to a control after the training program.

Inclusion criteria

• 14-17 years of age;
• have no injuries for six weeks prior to testing;
• have no medical problems preventing them from participating in the study.

Exclusion criteria

• have a previous ACL injury or repair;
• have a back or lower limb injury that kept them from playing or training for greater than 30 days in the past year;
• presently using a supplemental exercise based program;
• have any medical or neurologic condition that would impair their ability to perform the tasks.