Project ACL to study injuries in women's soccer
STORY: One of the most debilitating injuries in women’s soccer, a torn anterior cruciate ligament, more commonly known as the ACL, is finally getting the attention it deserves.
A three-year study called Project ACL was launched Tuesday by several collaborating partners.
They include player unions FIFPRO and the Professional Footballers' Association, as well as Nike and Leeds Beckett University.
The research project will focus on England's 12-team Women's Super League, with the hope of reducing ACL injuries.
“I feel like we've been crying out for it for so long.”
Ellen White is a former forward for England.
"So it's listening to the players... What do they want? What do they see? What's their environment like? But then also the experiences of what people have experienced with ACLs. And you don't want that to happen to the next generation of footballers. So I think this research is great."
Project ACL will review existing research and injury reduction programs, study teams' resources and access to facilities, and track in real time factors such a player's workload and travel.
Dr. Stacey Emmonds is a lecturer in sports coaching at Leeds Beckett University:
"In basic terms, an ACL injury is an injury to the knee. It's one of the most severe knee injuries, which generally results in players being out for a long period of time, so, 12 months, missing a full season, sometimes longer, [FLASH] we tend to see a higher rate within females, and higher rate within female football. There's sort of conflicting numbers within the research, but generally suggesting that female players are 2 to 6 times more likely to sustain an ACL injury versus male players."
Numerous high-profile players have made headlines for recent ACL tears including Australia and Chelsea striker Sam Kerr, who tore hers in January.
Dr. Alex Culvin of FIFPRO says it's not that there's been a huge explosion of cases, but that research into the injury has not kept pace with the growing popularity of the women's game, which has meant greater workloads and crowded schedules for players.
"If we can shift the narrative away from these very singular understandings of ACL injuries, provide players with evidence based, robust information that moves them away from nitpicking around different factors that may or may not influence them like the menstrual cycle and give them actually concrete evidence and also provide clubs, federations, leagues with an understanding of these holistic risk factors and also solutions to mitigate the risk factors, I think that the project will be a really big success."
