Q & A

ACL INJURY PREVENTION

This month's article deals with injury prevention to the area of the ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament). I train a lot of female soccer players and the question I am most often asked by parents is - will strength training help prevent ACL injury? My answer is that yes, my program directly strengthens the areas that help prevent injury to this area. Training the body with heavy loads not only helps improve the nervous system recruit the right muscles to stabilize joints like the ankle, knee and hip, but it will also prepare the body to handle more stress on the body like the movements required on the soccer field. Change of direction is the number one movement skill in the game of soccer and puts the most stress on the knees. One study shows:

"Research has determined that girls from early to late puberty are at greater risk for ACL injury as they show decreased neuromuscular control of the knee with landing from a jump movement." (Hewett et al. JB&JS, 2004)

My theory is that squatting and deadlifting with heavier weight will improve that control and can lessen the chance for injury. The program I recommend that has worked for my clients is to start with a heavy squat or deadlift and then focus on unilateral exercise like a step up (See last month's exercise in my newsletter) and end with a focus on the hamstrings. The hamstrings are a secondary stabilizer of the ACL and very important in the game of soccer. A sample program would look like this:

A1) Trap Bar Deadlift – work up to a 3 rep max

B1) Dumbbell Step Ups – 3 sets of 8 reps for each leg

C1) Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts – 3 sets of 12 reps

Abs – choice

As an aside, I have a female high school soccer player who strength trained with me for the whole soccer season knowing that she had a torn ACL (ok'd by her physician of course). She is one tough athlete!

Please check out Mark's feature article in Stack Magazine's January issue ('Heavy Metal') at  www.stackmag.com.

 

Q & A

Mark,
Do you incorporate any weighted sled work during the off season as a way to increase power output, increase conditioning and provide variety to off season workouts?  Also, I recently ordered the manual and anxiously wait its arrival.

Thanks,

Ed

A Ed, Thanks for the question. I utilize sled dragging in a lot of my sessions year round.  Sled dragging offers a great way to load the athlete without putting a lot of pressure on the athlete's joints. I perform sled drags in many ways to keep the workout interesting - forward, backward, sideways and running with it with no weight. The sled is great way to get in a strength workout with conditioning as well. Enjoy the manual and T-shirt!

 

Question and Answer Section:

You can ask Mark any question dealing with Strength and Conditioning for Soccer players and he will address two or three questions each month.

Mark now has his strength training manual Williams Soccer Strength Method available on his website!