Introduction A high incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries related to sports activities has been reported; however, the injury situation of ACL injury in badminton has not been elucidated. This study investigated the mechanism of ACL injury in badminton using a questionnaire.

Methods Information on injury mechanism was gathered from interviews with six male and 15 female badminton players who received a non-contact ACL injury playing badminton and underwent ACL reconstruction.

Results The most common injury mechanism (10 of 21 injuries) was single-leg landing after overhead stroke. Nine of 10 players had injured the knee opposite to the racket-hand side. The second most frequent injury mechanism (eight of 21 injuries) was plant-and-cut while side-stepping or backward stepping. All eight players injured the knee of the racket-hand side. Eleven injuries occurred in the rear court, and six of the 11 injuries occurred during single-leg landing after an overhead stroke.

Conclusion The knee opposite to the racket-hand side tended to sustain the ACL injuries during single-leg landing after a backhand overhead stroke, whereas the knee of the racket-hand side tended to be injured by plant-and-cut during side or backward stepping. These injury patterns appear to be due to specific movements during badminton.