I posted on this topic during the summer, but wanted to update it as the spring season is quickly approaching. In the spring of 2009, I was reeling because in the previous 15 months, I had four of my lacrosse players suffer major knee injuries that required surgery and six months of rehab. I began to do my research as many of us have and found that girls are much more likely to suffer a major knee injury than boys are. I read the scientific explanations and honestly didn't care about the why. I wanted to know how to prevent it.
I stumbled across a video from a trainer/coach, Rashad Devoe, that specializes in lacrosse. Rashad coaches lacrosse players, but many of his activities are targeting athletes in general. His video focused on ACL Injury Reduction. Check it out.
I had already switched to mostly dynamic stretching for the team. I added many dynamic stretches that focused on the knee and leg in general and I added a new part that was for the purpose of strengthening the knee: leg hops, prisoner squats, etc. We have reached a point where close to 90% of our warmup is dedicated to strengthening the knee. The results? Knock on wood, zero knee injuries in three seasons. I knock on wood because even if you take as many preventative measures as possible, you can still use a little luck.
If you coach female athletes, you will inevitably have a player with a serious knee injury. As coaches we need to do everything in our power to protect them from these injuries. I strongly urge you to look at your current warm up and determine how knee friendly it is.
