ACL Injury Prevention

PRO~PT has implemented an ACL Injury Prevention Program to assist in decreasing the number of non-contact ACL injuries sustained by competitive female soccer players in our area since 2012. The program has proven very effective in preventing these types of injuries.

Studies have shown there has been a sharp increase in ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injuries in female soccer players over the last four decades. More than 80,000 ACL injuries occur each year in the United States. The risk to a female player sustaining an ACL injury is two to eight times greater than her male counterpart. Subsequent studies have also shown that the implementation of an ACL Injury Prevention Program to the training regime can decrease the risk of injury by 80%.

Adapted from the PEP (PREVENT INJURY, Enhance Performance) Program by the Santa Monica Sports Medicine Research Foundation, our program is a highly specific, 20-minute training session that replaces a traditional warm-up. The program’s primary focus is to educate the players on strategies to avoid injury, including specific exercises to target problems identified in previous research studies.

Dr. Abel Ojeda, Jr., PT, DPT, SCS, treating in our Porterville clinic, has overseen our ACL Injury Prevention Program since 2012. He is extremely passionate about this program, as he has implemented this program into his own soccer teams and has expanded the program to female and male basketball and volleyball teams. He has seen the devastating effects of an ACL tear as a coach and as a player. He sustained an ACL injury while in college, spent several months rehabilitating his injury, and knows first-hand the struggles, challenges, and the lasting effects of ACL injuries.

For more information on our program, please contact our Visalia clinic at (559) 636-1200.