How to Recognize and Treat Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries in Youth Soccer

Although soccer has one of the lowest injury rates of any youth sport, sports and injuries, unfortunately, go hand in hand. With a little knowledge of safety and prevention, you can help your child reduce the likelihood of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Knee Braces

1. Understand the anatomy. The ACL is a ligament that provides stability to the knee.

2. Watch for instability of the knee, such as buckling while running or turning. This is a telltale sign of ACL damage.

3. An ACL injury can be very serious. The ACL can usually be reconstructed with the use of arthroscopic surgery.

4. Check out alternate treatment to surgery. Children under 15 are generally not candidates for arthroscopic surgery because their bones are still growing.

5. Ask about bracing and physical therapy. These are general recommendations for youth ACL injuries.

6. Make sure to keep a medical kit on the sideline.

Tips & Warnings

• Know the risks for girls. For reasons still unknown by doctors, female athletes have a higher risk of ACL damage than males.
• Know how it happens. Knee injuries occur because of the rapid acceleration and deceleration that is part of soccer, as well as twisting and turning.
• Ask about a brace so your child can resume playing. If a child has good muscle control, a doctor may allow him or her to play soccer while wearing a brace during recovery.
• Proper warm-up and stretching improve flexibility and help prevent injuries.

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