A Randomized Controlled Trial to Prevent Noncontact Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury in Female Collegiate Soccer Players

BackgroundNeuromuscular and proprioceptive training programs can decrease noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injuries; however, they may be difficult to implement within an entire team or the community at large.HypothesisA simple on-field alternative warm-up program can reduce noncontact ACL injuries.Study DesignRandomized controlled trial (clustered); Level of evidence, 1.MethodsParticipating National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I women's soccer teams were assigned randomly to intervention or control groups. Intervention teams were asked to perform the program 3 times per week during the fall 2002 season. All teams reported athletes’ participation in games and practices and any knee injuries. Injury rates were calculated based on athlete exposures, expressed as rate per 1000 athlete exposures. A z statistic was used for rate ratio comparisons.ResultsSixty-one teams with 1435 athletes completed the study (852 control athletes; 583 intervention). The overall anterior cruciate ligament injur...