There is an epidemic in this country of ACL tears in girls/women of all ages that participate in sports or recreational events. There are a couple of contributing factors involved from improper landing mechanic to just real bad luck. One factor which I consider to be the main culprit is the mechanics of the hip.
The GLUTE MAXIMUS AND GLUTE MEDIUS which can become week in anyone,how ever it seems to be worse in women ecspecially adolescent girls do to the fact the pelvis is wider in females for obvious reasons . With exercises like clamshells and glutebridges these two muscles can be strengthed, but recently I've been trying something different that has been working well Kettlebell Swings with power band abduction. What I wanted to do is make it more fun and exciting for my girls,but also affective from a training stand point.
Here is what I do I take a perform better power band and place in about mid thigh around both legs and ask the person Bailey in this picture to perform a kettlebell swing while keeping tension on the power band. Now I 've killed two bird with one stone not only is Bailey getting great Glute activation with the swing, the band is forcing her glute medius to fire (this will also prevent the dreaded knee adduction and give bailey the cardiovascular benefits as well)
Remember it is our jobs as RKC/Trainers to not only make training fun, we also must have a reason and a goal in this case ACL prevention/performance enhancement. I make sure that proper warm including SMR, JOINT RANGE OF MOTION ,ACTIVE FLEXIBILTY INCHWORMS,FAI, LUNGE WALKS,SQUATS are performed. Then the girls will perform 20-30 swings with 1 min rest (make sure you build this rep range up) for a 10 min period 2x per week. Along with agility drill and proper landing mechanics throughout the week we should be able to prevent any injury. For more info on exercise with the kettlebell that help in ACL prevention feel free to contact me.
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