There are more than 200,000 cases of ACL injuries every year, with 70% of those injuries happening in a sports setting. With an ever-growing emphasis on player safety, it's very important to prepare your body for any athletic event. Here are five steps you can take to help make sure that you don't sustain this knee injury.
Warm Up
You never want to do any kind of physical activity without properly preparing your body, and this is especially true for a demanding activity that puts a strain on your knees. Consider doing some “butt kickers.” Stand with your feet together and hands behind your back, bend forward slightly where your shoulders are over your feet, then begin to slowly kick your knees backward while moving forward for five to ten yards.
Stretch
Regular stretching can help decrease your risk of an ACL injury and is always a good start to any workout. A great stretch that will help you prepare your lower body is often referred to as a “butterfly” stretch. Sit down on the ground, bend your knees to the point where your feet touch, place your hands on your feet, slide your feet closer to your body, lower your head towards your feet. It's important to remember that if you feel pain, stop doing the stretch immediately.
Strengthen
Strengthening your body is a great way to reduce your risk of an ACL injury. A simple exercise like backward lunges are simple and effective in helping strengthen your lower body and prevent knee injuries. Stand with both feet together and hands on your hips. Take your left foot and step backwards while slowly lowering yourself to the floor until your right knee is at a 90-degree angle. Begin pushing yourself up with your right leg until you are standing again. Repeat the process and alternate between legs.
Agilities
Agility workouts are a great way to prevent knee injuries. Agilities focus on creating an explosive reaction in your muscles. A great workout for this is called “bounding run.” Find a starting point and begin running forward, focusing on bringing your knees towards your chest quickly and landing on the balls of your feet. Continue for 40 yards.
Cool Down
After finishing any kind of activity, it's important to let your body recover from the workout by slowly cooling down. A great way to do that is to simply lie on your back and slowly bring one knee to your chest, holding it there for 30 seconds before switching to the other leg.
You can use all these steps to help prevent an injury to your ACL. These aren't the only ways to preventing knee injuries, but they are easy, quick, and effective to getting yourself ready for physical activity.
