iddle part of the knee where the ACL is located. The hormone estrogen affects the strength of the ligament making the ACL susceptible to tears because of its weakness. Since women are smaller than men they carry less overall muscle weight and possess shorter muscle bellies. Women tend to have lower muscle to body fat ratios than men. Without those extra muscles it makes it easy to go beyond ones limits and injure oneself. The reason that women have fewer muscles is because they only have one tenth of the testosterone of men. The testosterone is a hormone used to build muscles without it the body does not produce muscles. A study done by the University of Michigan found that women tend to rely more on their quadriceps, which is the muscle in the front of the thigh while men use their hamstrings, which are the muscles on the back of the thigh in stopping forward movement. Even though women are competing at the same intensity of men. Their bodies are not handling the wear and tear. However intrinsic factors are not the only factors that contribute to ACL damage, extrinsic factors play a major role as well. The extrinsic factors contribute to ACL injury through the problems that originate outside the knee joint. The extrinsic factors include: specific movements performed during sporting activity, muscle imbalances, playing surface and the use of brace. The extrinsic factors also include: athlete conditioning, strength, experience, muscle recruitment patterns and learned motor skills. There has been an increase in women who sustain an ACL tear. One reason for the increase in injuries is that more females are participating in sports with more intensity. Some are less exposed to the activity, which makes it harder for them to make complex movements. Also the level of skill has contributed to the increase in ACL tears because the players are playing with athletes of the same age but different skill level. Many females learn as they go without...
