Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury in Female Volleyball Players: A Review

Abstract

Volleyball is one of the most popular sports among the female athletes. Although volleyball is considered as a non- contact game, high incidence of injuries are reported for volleyball players. Knee injuries are one of the most common types of injuries in volleyball. This study aimed to review the literature regarding the cruciate (ACL) injuries focused on the volleyball players. A review literature was conducted via searches in Google Scholar, Scopus, PubMed, EBSCO host (Medline Database, Sport Discus), and Science Direct (2011 to march 2021) using various key terms such as anterior cruciate ligament and knee injury. Based on the evidences, although the internal and external risk factors for ACL injury have been extensively studied, the biomechanical factors that expose athletes to this injury are still unclear. To answer the specific question of the present study, different factors associated with ACL injury especially in female’s athletes, a comprehensive review of basic and applied studies is necessary. In this paper, after explaining about ACL injuries extracted from articles, the role and application of ACL, its mechanics and patho-mechanics have been discussed. Also, occurrences of ACL injury in volleyball ranks among the other sports, athlete/non-athletes, gender and age of players, is divided as well. It is believed that biomechanical and neuromuscular differences in the trunk and lower limbs are the most likely reason for the significant difference in the high prevalence of non-collision ACL injury in female compared to men.