My fiancé used to play for the leicester academy. She played with a few of the lionesses. Her career was cut short by an ACL tear and then another one shortly after returning to playing. She’s now waiting for her 6th or 7th ACL operation and will need a double knee replacement when she’s 30/in her early 30’s and possibly a hip replacement shortly after that for where she’s had to accommodate her weak knees. Bear in mind, she’s only 24

Arsenal women's team have had an injury crisis I have never seen before. Having like 5 players all on ACL injury is insane

Just had my acl and meniscus repaired last year, recovery sucks but it's so much better and faster these days thanks to advancements in medical tech. 30+ years ago those injuries ended many footballers careers.

I played academy football for Mamelodi Sundowns here in South Africa and when I was 18 I tore my ACL and when I recovered I was just never the same. There was a huge mental block that I couldn't get over, that was my first serious injury and I just developed this fear of getting injured and I stopped playing as passionately as I used too. I just couldn't move as fast as I wanted and I no longer could explode as I could before getting injured (I played as an ATM and my strongest trait was burst ball carries) after tearing my ACL for the 2nd time on the same leg I just had to quit because it was just never meant to be. This is the main reason I don't think I could watch my daughter play football.

Having wider pelvises is actually the main factor. I'm surprised this wasn't mentioned first. He put "luck" as the #1 reason 😅

7 times more likely is massive. Hopefully more funding and interest in the Women's game will mean that future generations are better supported at younger ages to help with this. I'd love to see more content like this!

An ACL injury hampers a football player's career, even applies to all athletes, it's really crazy.

Genetics and your biology is one of the worst things about injuries. I remember a commentator for this Barcelona game with Raphina (brother of Thiago) talk about how they both have knee problems, and it’s genetic. Both have a predisposition to getting injuries, and it’s clear that throughout both of these two siblings careers they have been injured many many times. Yeah, a failing body that isn’t even your fault because you do everything like how you’re suppose to has gotta be one of the worst feelings.

Its kinda funny that in basketball new generation guys tend to get more injury prone bcs the doctors said played too much competitive games in the aau system. But having less games when younger made women footballers more injury prone. The landing stuff is very real, theres a lot of that breakdown on how to land after a jump could avoid injuries. Check out comparison of landing from westbrook and derrick rose.

wouldn't the factor of having wider hips (larger torque through the joint, elongated muscles, ligaments and tendons) play a factor on the stability, strength, placiticty, and stiffness of the ACL in woman?

Thank you for making this video. Unfortunately many of these players won't be physically ready for the FIFA womens world cup in July 2023. ACL injuries are affecting players at the grassroot as well, which needs to be talked about as well.

My prayers go to any player, male or female whom sustain ACL injuries ❤

My cousin played professionaly in Mexico recently and suffered an ACL injury which has had to leave her out of the game perhaps for good. It's interesting that you guys touch the subject of anatomy because I believe it's possible that the training sessions are also male anatomy based and that may be cause for wear and tear on women. I can't recall if it was Menotti or someone else, who stated that footballers used to be trained similar to race horses and that caused injury and poor performance. When that changed, so did the game. Maybe there's something we can still learn from that.

Thank you for doing this, finally there is a great and infleuncial youtuber reporting on this issue. There should be more awareness to prevent these injuries. Your channel is so great and doing such great things for the football community. Ur a legend

I do think there are another 2 factors which was missed. 1. The grounds they play on are not always the best quality and so there is more chance of trauma being added to the knee when collisions with another player or landing on the ground. This along with the fact that as the game is still in it's infancy of professionalism, the players tend to go in harder on challenges and less gets called as they want the game to be seen as more physical than the men's game (as it helps overcome a lot of the stereotypes). 2. As the pool of players (talented players) is smaller as the game is still growing, a lot of the talented players have to play a lot of games in congested time tables and so there is less time to rest and heal. I also think this is why ACL's are rising in the men's game as they are being made to play more minutes.

The illustrations on this one were absolute perfection. Congratulations to the arts team!

I was listening to a podcast about biomechanics and movement patterns of athletes the other day. I won’t pretend to be an expert, but there’s a big importance on strength of the arch, ankle alignment/height and “bow-setting” while running and during changes of direction that play a part in creating healthy movements for athletes. Modern athletes are moving in an unhealthy way that’s putting way more pressure on the inside of the knee leading to the acl epidemic in sports. I’m more worried about the rising injury tally in young athletes. Would be cool to see this talked about more too. 👍

Now this explains why most players today play at the highest level even in their late 30s, the sports science and behind the scenes logistics has vastly vastly improved, won't be surprised in the 2050s players playing at the top level into their mid 40s

This comment section cracks me up. They literally brought on a knee repair specialist who specifically explains that data on women's injuries and recovery is badly lacking, but apparently KZfaq commenters are onto something he's not about female anatomy. Get a grip.

I was wondering about this a couple of months ago when I saw crazy numbers on the amount of women that was suffering from ACL injuries. A lot of women will miss the World Cup because of knee injuries.

We got a lot of scientists in the comments

Nice video. Keep up the good work.

Thank you so much for this - it's really good information!

Video was really good and helpful. Genuinely love this channel

we are not built the same

Football like many sports have evolved to test the athleticism of men. The size of the pitch, the length of time played, ball size, goal size etc. All push the limitations of what men can do. Testosterone not only gives men stronger muscles and size a advanced. It also gives better repair times than women in-between matches and training etc. So if we took a scientific approach to the woman's game, and and trialed pitch sizes and match times etc we might better optimum ranges, that would reduces these injuries

This has been on my mind recently.. thank you!

Don't women also play and train more often on artificial turf which has a harder surface and puts more strain on the knee?

It is basic science, it is about the strength of the muscles and the ligaments.

Its amazing to see this vlog. Great sharing boss. I really like this ..

Very illuminating, thank you.

Reduce the play time and make the field smaller maybe??

The physiological point is valid in another role in the world. Military, not acl but femur fractures. The stresses of weight has lead to fractures of femur which is a medical emergency due to proximity to major artery along the length of femur. It’s not given the proper exposure because it’s a example of difference of body. Eventually someone will step forward and explain why this will be a cause of many dq from some military roles.

Great information

Knee health is probably the most looked over aspect of the modern training. People will train literally everything else but neglect the chain of ligaments and tendons in the knee it's self. 7 ACL operations on my own knees for anyone that think they have more experience on the matter 😅 😅 Took 6 to figure it out and the 7th was on the other leg from a direct impact injury. ATG kneesovertoes

Other than the "7x more likely to rupture ACL" stat, the most surprising thing to me from the video is that Woman are playing in boots crafted for men. Shoes have differences in men's and women's sizes. How is this not the same for sporting footwear?

I watched this video Saturday night, and have bow legs, which made me think the risk of injury for me (as a male) is much reduced. I fractured my knee Sunday morning from a non-impact injury during a game. What are the chances?

Nice video keep up the good work

Informative video ❤

Fellow commenters, I fully understand the sensitivity to much of society ignoring gender differences, but did you watch the rest of the video past the “Luck” portion? The rest of the video focuses on the unique biological challenges faced by women, as well as potential solutions to those issues.

I don’t know about women’s sports in the US (really just the WNBA) but there are quite a few players who suffer ACL tears, like Carson Wentz, Kyler Murray, Von Miller, Tom Brady, Bill Gramatica, Rob Gronkowski, as well as Teddy Bridgewater, just to name a few that have happened over the past 15 years in the NFL. Derrick Rose, Kyle Lowry, as well as 95 more players who have suffered a torn ACL in the NBA since 1980. Recently in hockey you have Mason Shaw, who suffered his fourth tear (knees probably are like Kaká’s), lIlya Mikheyev, Luke Kunin who has had it twice, to name a few. In baseball, there is Rhys Hoskins, who sadly plays for my Phillies, Ronald Acuña Jr., Royce Lewis has torn it twice, Gavin Lux, Adalberto Mondesi, Kyle Schwarber, Marcus Stroman, Andrew McCutchen, and more. All of that was just in the last 8 or so years, and that’s not even all. You can play on a torn ACL, as the hamstrings provide support to the knee, but if that goes and you haven’t gotten ACL reconstruction surgery, good luck staying fast. Mickey Mantle played nearly his entire HoF career on a torn ACL because they didn’t know how to treat it in the 50s

Video was really good and helpful 👍

Thank you for making this video❤

This is so interesting. Amazing the medical knowledge we have in the modern world. Holy balls.

Would love to see more videos on womens football, history and tactics!

very insightful video

I have a theory on why women are suffering significantly more ACL injuries compared to men. It will be left field for many and refuted I'm sure, but here goes. I believe it's down to drug use, specifically a specific type of antibiotic. Fluoroquinolone antibiotics are incredibly powerful broad spectrum drugs which are frequently over and incorrectly prescribed. More often than not they're prescribed for infections of the water works, renal etc. Women as a ratio are prescribed 5 times more than men, mainly due to women almost elusively being the ones who suffer from these ailments. They are usually a sledgehammer for a walnut treatment. Unfortunately many recipients of these drugs don't realise newly acquired symptoms in the days weeks or months after ceasing their use are down to side effects of these drugs. Most fails to recognise the association of this drug to their new symptoms, symptoms comprising of a bible length list of issues. Such issue include muscular-skeletal issues, collagen degradation, metal ion chelation, mitochondrial/dna issues. Essentially for many, these drugs wreck your body, but because the damage they cause is often insidious and progressive it is usually not linked back to this drugs use. Dr's are ignorant to their dangers from never having been taught about their problems, and or the medical professionals failing to fully understand and recognise the problems. It would be very interesting to issue anonymous questionnaires to all male and female player detailing their previous prescribed medication and their injuries and see if any correlations occur. I'm suspicious that many of the women's acl injuries are linked to this antibiotics' use. I know many who've suffered severely as a result of this toxic for some class of drugs. Edit- incidentally the ratio of women to men suffering adverse reactions to these drugs is coincidentally the same as the ratio in the number being prescribed 5:1. Therefore more women are prescribed this drug than men, more women suffer adverse reactions than men, plus factor in the metabolic differences between the sexes and interesting conclusions could be found.

Great video. Takes biology into account and realistic ways with how we can make it safer for women.

Same has been notable in the AFLW in Australia

Informative video

3:39 - the collagen point is interesting. i wonder if there is a difference between players on birth control vs not. A solution could be anabolic steroids to decrease knee laxity. Alternatively, since Rxfp1 and Rxfp2 have a protein similar structure to insulin, perhaps localized insulin knee injections over time could be used.

Before watching the video, let me make a guess: Q angle of hip is wider than that for males?

Women are indeed more prone to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries compared to men, particularly in certain sports such as soccer and basketball. While the exact reasons for this disparity are not entirely understood, several factors are believed to contribute to the higher incidence of ACL injuries in women: Anatomic differences: Women typically have wider hips, resulting in a greater angle between the thighbone (femur) and shinbone (tibia). This increased angle, known as the Q angle, can put more stress on the ACL, making it more vulnerable to injury. Hormonal factors: Hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle may influence ligament laxity. Increased laxity can make the ACL more susceptible to injury. Neuromuscular control: Women often exhibit differences in neuromuscular control compared to men. This includes factors such as muscle strength imbalances, reduced hamstring-to-quadriceps strength ratios, and altered landing mechanics during activities like jumping and cutting. These factors can contribute to improper joint stabilization and increased ACL injury risk. Ligament size and strength: Research suggests that women may have smaller and weaker ACLs compared to men, which could make them more susceptible to injury. Training techniques: Differences in training programs and techniques between men and women, especially during adolescence, may play a role. Historically, women's sports have received less attention, resulting in potentially inadequate training and conditioning programs. Insufficient preparation can increase the risk of ACL injuries. It's important to note that while women have a higher incidence of ACL injuries, this does not mean that all women are prone to such injuries, nor does it imply that men are completely immune. Understanding these risk factors can help guide injury prevention strategies, such as targeted strength training, neuromuscular training, and education on proper landing and cutting techniques.

Wonderful analysis

Women's football playing time and frequency should be reduced. Surely that will reduce serious injury incidents.

The ladies deserve more when it comes to football.

Thank u for this video

Informative🎉

I think it’s since men grow more muscle naturally we have more lean muscle to with stand more than women

Thanks for this

Actually really interesting! I had no idea.

The state of this comment section is disgusting.

Wait, you mean to tell me there are biological differences between men and women?! The shock! The scandal!

i tore my acl playing soccer a month before i turned 14. now i’m 15 and back and praying and doing everything i can so i don’t get another

Informative video 📸

Acl injury looks so painful😱

Reason 1. Some players are unlucky. Great analysis 🤣

Nice information

Informative

There have been other published study on this. Its not a unknown, its all down to the knee angle caused by the wider hips on women. The answer would well be boots that are slightly externally rolled - why knows

I don't buy the Academy since 10-argument. Women instead get's to debut for their national tams when they are like 15-16 which should make them into prime athletes faster(Depending on the standard of womens football). There are also tons of late bloomers who never played academy football and still became pros and has had zero ACL-problems. Especially african players whosé academies isn't always top notch to begin with.

keep up the good work

Those are surprising numbers and quite interesting. How popular is futsal over in europe? or I don't what 5v5 it's called, but do you see the same injuries? Nice video, honestly.

So let me get this straight: you consult health specialists in the area of ACL surgery who clearly outline the reasons to be of physiological and environmental nature, only to conclude by yourself at the end of the video, that the main issue has to be environmental which is caused by a lack of funding in the women's game? Now let's suppose that were to be in fact the truth: biology has absolutely nothing or little to do with it and better funding will lead to better training equipment, better health professionals caring for the athletes resulting in heightened athleticism and quicker recovery times. More importantly, if we have identified that to be the issue could we solve it? No, we can't and that's simply because we can't grab extra funding out of thin air for a sport fewer people (both men and women btw) prefer to watch. I really dislike the clearly politically charged closing statement to suggest female soccer athletes are viewed as "second class citizens" to their male counterparts in that regard just because they have less capital to use across all areas of their sport's infrastructure compared to what is the most commercialized sport on the planet. By that same logic, badminton players are second class citizens compared to male football professionals because they don't have the same resources to allocate to their medical staff and treatments. Women's football is underfunded because it is an inferior product. To suggest that that is solely due to sexism is an incredible disservice and insult to so many people that watch different male and female sports for a multitude of different reasons and absolutely does not line up with the data derived from market research, that clearly indicates, that more men actually watch women's sports than women do. If you want, go ahead and fund all sports equally for the sake of equality. I'm not sure where all the extra money is supposed to come from though.

We want to train female athletes using techniques that were designed for male bodies We need more women in football management cause they understand how the womans body behaves, how we recover, and how to work with the female body...

Never had this as a male player. But had to give up Football after i suffered a thigh muscle tear for like 7th time in 2 years my main problem was i never felt that at the heat of moment(match) and next day i couldn't walk. I tried, i trained but could get my form back. If everything went right that time i would have gave trials for Ac Milan as they picked me while they had a week long campaign here in Nepal.

As a Turkish (former) journalist, I am impressed by your exhaustive research on this piece. The storytelling is top-notch. Thanks.

Safety precautions k sath khelna chahye, or apna khub khayal rakhna chahye.

Just Horrible that hopefully there is a fix for this problem

Are there any videos on the World Cup on a different channel? We're into the quarters this weekend and i couldn't see anything yet?

You'll pay to go to the theater but you're not going to pay to watch a children's production of the nativity are you.

Comment section full of incels. They are so predictable

Well said

Good one 👍

Almost like men are biologically wired to endure more physical hardship

Because their acls aren't as strong?... c'mon, hit me with another one. Im here all day

Nice explanation

Great video

Instead of 90 minutes games, they should reduced it 60 minutes. Better game and safe for players.

Hopefully things get better for the women football It's fun to watch the women's football nowadays Especially because I'm a Manchester United fan

Maybe current players are from the "pre-popularity era" and newcoming footballers who have grown recently in a more professionalised environment will have less injuries

The main problem is the "Q-Angle", which is greater in the legs of women than in men. This is due to wider hips. The higher the Q-Angle, the more likely is an ACL injury.

Great video.

Biology

Because their bodies are not designed to withstand high-intensity physical activity?

Interesting stuff.

The patellar tendon graphic used in the video is incorrect.

Most importantly: women are built different. They can carry and birth children, which is incredibly difficult and therefore they got wider pelvises. This ties into point 3 of the knee structures. You can train them from an early age just like the boys all you want. In the end, biology always wins.

Man I thought you don’t shy the truth, because biggest factor is biological

I’m battling an ACL for three months now and I hear it might take a longer while before I can get to play again or maybe at worse never get to play again. What’s worse is I don’t know what cheaper treatment or therapy to use. I’m so devastated watching and not playing. I hate myself for picking up this injury. 🤦🏻‍♂️