On March 6-10, 2018, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons held their annual meeting in New Orleans with over 30,00o orthopaedic professionals from around the world in attendance. Three of Dr. Noyes’ current studies were accepted by AAOS and presented at this year’s meeting. AAOS chose to feature one of the studies, “Which Anterior Cruciate Ligament Prevention Programs Are Effective in Decreasing Injury Rates and Improving Neuromuscular Indices in Female Athletes?”, to be released to the press as one of the major scientific advancements highlighted at the meeting. The study reviewed 36 published ACL prevention training programs to determine which programs are scientifically proven to improve neuromuscular indices and reduce noncontact ACL injury rates in female athletes.
The study found 3 programs (Sportsmetrics1, PEP2, and Myer3,4) that had a significant impact in improving multiple neuromuscular indices including vertical ground reaction forces, knee joint angles, hip and knee moments and lower extremity muscle strength. Three programs were found to be effective in significantly reducing noncontact ACL injury rates: Sportsmetrics5, PEP2, and KIPP6.
Overall, only 2 programs (Sportsmetrics and PEP) had a significant impact on both noncontact ACL injury rates and high-risk movement patterns in female athletes. Successful training programs included the following concepts: dynamic warm-up, supervised plyometrics, lower extremity and core strength training, supervised agility training and a minimum 6 week training period.
Dr. Noyes and his team of researchers at Noyes Knee Institute have studied the effects of Sportsmetrics for over 20 years. The program has been scientifically proven to significantly improve lower extremity muscle strength and imbalances, decreased valgus knee moments, improved lower limb alignment, and increased knee flexion angles. The program is also successful in decreasing ACL injuries in female athletes who complete the program by 72%.
Read the AAOS Press Release here.
- Noyes FR, Barber-Westin SD: ACL injury prevention training in female athletes. A systematic review of injury reduction and results of athletic performance tests. Sports Health 4: 36-46, 2012.
- Mandelbaum BR et al. Effectiveness of a neuromuscular and proprioceptive training program in preventing anterior cruciate ligament injuries in female athletes: 2-year follow-up. Am J Sports Med. 2005;33(7):1003-1010.
- Myer GD, Ford KR, Brent JL, Hewett TE. The effects of plyometric vs. dynamic stabilization and balance training on power, balance, and landing force in female athletes. J Strength Cond Res. 2006;20(2):345-353.
- Myer GD, Stroube BW, DiCesare CA, et al. Augmented feedback supports skill transfer and reduces high-risk injury landing mechanics: a double-blind, randomized controlled laboratory study. Am J Sports Med. 2013;41(3):669-677.
- Noyes FR, Barber-Westin SD. Neuromuscular retraining intervention programs: do they reduce noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injury rates in adolescent female athletes? Arthroscopy. 2014;30(2):245-255.
- Labella CR et al. Effect of Neuromuscular Warm-up on Injuries in Female Soccer and Basketball Athletes in Urban Public High Schools: Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2011;165(11):1033-1040.