001 HORMONAL THERAPY AND ACL INJURY

J. Agel, E. Arendt, B. Bershadsky. University of Minnesota, MN, USA

Background: Current reports in the literature demonstrate that no definitive explanation for the difference in rate of male and female non-contact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury has been found. The hormonal environment, known to be different in men and women, has been hypothesised as the possible source for this difference in injury rate.

Purpose: To confirm our earlier work looking at periodicity of non-contact ACL injury. To determine the rate of non-contact ACL injury and ankle sprains in collegiate basketball and soccer. To determine if the use of oral contraceptives affects the rate of non-contact ACL injury and ankle sprains.

Methods: This was a longitudinal cohort using collegiate basketball and soccer athletes. Data were collected from a sample of NCAA schools over the 2000–2001 basketball and the 2001–2002 basketball and soccer seasons.

Results: Recall and prospective data collection of length of menstrual cycle did not produce equivalent results. Periodicity was present only in the recall group of “off pill” users. The rate of non-contact ACL injury and non-contact ankle sprains was twice as high in basketball as in soccer. There was no difference in rate of injuries between those athletes using hormonal therapy and those athletes not using hormonal therapy.

Conclusions: Non-contact ACL injuries and ankle sprains occurred at significantly higher rates in basketball than in soccer, but this rate difference cannot be linked to hormonal usage. The overall rate of non-contact ACL injury and ankle sprain to women’s collegiate basketball and soccer players is very low. Over the three seasons studied, there were 45 non-contact ACL injuries and 116 non-contact ankle sprains.

002 MUSCLE LENGTH DEPENDENT INCREASES IN STRENGTH AFTER PROGRESSIVE ECCENTRIC BIASED TRAINING

T. J. Allen, R. G. Celebrini, D. L. Macintyre. School of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

Background: Unaccustomed eccentric exercise, where we use …