How to reduce the number of ACL injuries, without changing the preseason

[hepcat]

A decent article from Bleacher Report?  Yea, I know right...this one is pretty good.  Makes me wonder if any of these research and training techniques are implemented by the Panthers, especially after dealing with Thomas Davis's three ACL tears.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2555624-preseason-acl-injures-can-be-drastically-reduced-heres-how

Jordy Nelson's ACL tear didn't have to happen. Neither did Kelvin Benjamin's. Or Orlando Scandrick's: A non-contact injury, just like the others. Many of the other ACL tears, hamstring pulls and soft-tissue injuries that have plagued this preseason did not have to happen.

"You can reduce risk [of non-contact ACL injuries in the NFL] somewhere between 50 and 70 percent," according to Dr. Timothy Hewett, director of biomechanics and sports medicine research at the Mayo Clinic, who has researched knee injuries for over 20 years.

Hewett developed a way to screen athletes who were at high risk for knee injuries while conducting research at Ohio State University. The test was based on years of longitudinal studies of incoming Ohio State athletes and local high school football players. The test starts with a one-foot-high box.

Players were instructed to leap after landing, and Hewett's researchers carefully studied the movement of the legs, thighs and hips. The modern screening test uses high-speed cameras, motion capture and 3-D imaging, but a low-tech approach can be almost as effective if you know what you are looking for.

"Even if you have a simple cellphone, just take a video of it," Hewett said. "You can see, right before landing, the position of how far apart the knees are. If those knees collapse into half or more of that distance, that player is showing what we call 'ligament dominance.'"

 

"Here's the good news," Hewett said. "There are things that can be done that have been demonstrated again and again to work in randomized trials. With neuromuscular training, we can reduce those risk factors."

So NFL teams (or any other sports teams) can identify athletes with high ACL risks, alter their training regimens and lower their non-contact-injury risks by more than half.

[UpstatePanther]

this is some serious Minority Report sh!t. predicting ACL tears before they happen... O.o

"Kelvin come here, we need to talk to you"

"Okay coach."

"The video shows you have ligament dominance in your right knee. We are going to sit you this week in practice and perhaps the game too because we believe you might tear your ACL if not."

"But coach, I..."

"But nothing Kelvin, youre too valuable for us to risk it."

[Cary Kollins]

Pretty irresponsible for the author to say those injuries "didn't have to happen", as if these methods would have unequivocally prevented them.

[Cary Kollins]

I posted this in another form and it applies here. 

 

  Quote

• Explaining the high number of injuries.The new collective bargaining agreement creates too much time for the players to rest their bodies. As one front office exec told me, long rest helps joints, but long rest isn't great for tendons. The new work rules give players 14 weeks off from the end of the season, seven weeks to train with their teammates and then six to eight weeks off before training camp. If the players aren't doing enough running or training to keep the tendons constantly working, they are vulnerable to the ACL tears, Achilles pulls and other injuries that have hit teams. Many of these injuries have come in non-contact activities. The league and the union need to devote time to figuring out a better offseason strategy to help players stay away from these bad injuries.

 

from 2013

 

http://espn.go.com/nfl/trainingcamp13/story/_/id/9539632/john-clayton-thoughts-road

 

[Jangler]

My real question is: Are preseason injuries really up, or is this just another overreaction?

[KB_fan]

There was a stat in an NFL.com article comparing this year's injury total to other seasons - but it seems to only be talking about ACL injuries.  And we've still got 2 preseason games to play... so, I'm not sure if this stat means anything at all.  But here's what's been said.  Looks like we're already above 2014 levels for ACL tears in the preseason and getting close to the (record?) level in 2013.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000516618/article/what-we-learned-galette-latest-in-string-of-big-injuries

With so many notable players smote by the football gods, it's natural to wonder if injuries are becoming more prevalent.

Since the offseason began, 25 players have sustained ACL injuries. That's not far off the offseason and preseason marks of 2013 (31) and 2014 (22).

Considering each of the 32 teams has 90 players under roster, that means fewer than one percent have been lost for the season.

[SmokinwithWilly]

As someone who has had ligament issues in my knees, there is some truth to correcting how you move. I was suffering from severe knee issues and after 6 months of therapy, MRI's, and doctor visits, part of it could be corrected by learning how to walk correctly. 

[Snake]

Yea I went to a seminar a month ago and a talking point was how to prevent ACL injuries and this was apart of it. Poor core stability and hamstring length was also causes for ACL tears.  They used RG3 as a example and showed his combine picture with his knees folding in as a example. 

[Hotsauce]

Panthers need to replace the strength and conditioning coach

[X-Clown on 1]

Next they're going to start using a players prone to ACL injuries based on high speed cameras, as leverage when negotiating contracts.  Might as well starting integrating this research into my Fantasy Football picks as well.

[Plewis]

Kinda cool but it'll take more than a bleacherreport article to convince me this works.

[CRA]

I think as long as you have these super human type people (which didn't exist years ago)....asking their bodies to hold up to what they do on a football field the only way to prevent anything is simply not playing.

[Peppers90 NC]

it seems these ACL injuries have increased dramatically once all these new restrictions for practicing have been introduced (the cba). basically, you try to baby these guys, these injuries will keep happening

[Clicheking]

To long......did not read