Women are more susceptible to AFL tears than men, sports doctor Peter Brukner confirms

UPDATE: ANOTHER AFLW player has had her season cruelled by an ACL injury as a concerned AFL hopes a new prevention program can reduce the number of serious knee injuries to its women’s stars.

Isabel Huntington grabs her knee after suffering the injury. Picture: Getty

THE AFL is hanging its hopes on a new ACL injury prevention program as a spate of knee injuries continues to cripple the women’s competition.

The Western Bulldogs confirmed AFLW young gun Isabel Huntington needs season-ending surgery on her right knee, with scans showing she suffered a ruptured ACL for the second time in three years during Sunday’s win against Brisbane Lions.

Huntington is the sixth AFLW player since August to have her season wiped out by an ACL injury after Fremantle today confirmed midfielder Brianna Green had ruptured her right knee during training last Thursday.

Four were suffered in matches and two during training.

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The AFL’s most recent annual injury survey shows 14 ACL injuries were recorded among 814 male players in 2016 — or one in 58 players.

The first AFLW season last year had more than double the rate of ACL injuries — in a competition less than a third as long as the men’s.

Eight ACL injuries were suffered among 220 AFLW players, or about one in 27 players.

Isabel Huntington grabs her knee after suffering the injury. Picture: Getty

Experts attribute the discrepancy largely to the different shape of the female body, with studies from other sports showing ACL injury rates between two and 10 times higher among females.

The AFL acknowledged the problem and said that last November it had signed on for a new prevention program to tackle the issue through knee strengthening exercises, including weights programs and altering running patterns.

“Female ACL injuries are a global issue in sport,” a league spokeswoman said.

“The AFL has engaged La Trobe University to conduct a pilot ACL injury prevention program with the Melbourne-based AFLW teams.

“This will test effectiveness of the intervention on movement patterns, balance and strength at pre-season and end of the season.”

The program included knee-strengthening exercises such as weights programs and altering running patterns

Leading sports physician Dr Peter Brukner said there were several reasons why women were more susceptible to knee injuries.

“The main reason is just mechanics in that females have a wider pelvis and therefore are more bow-legged — there is more of an inclination for their knees to fall in when they twist, so that makes them more susceptible to tearing an anterior cruciate,” Dr Brukner said.

“That’s pretty well recognised the world over. There’s been a lot of research that’s come out of female handball players in Scandinavian countries and female soccer players in the US.

“They are certainly more susceptible to these nasty anterior cruciate injuries.

“As a result women’s sporting teams now put a lot of emphasis on prevention programs and we know there are certain things that they can do, various exercises and various techniques on landing that female athletes can do that reduce the prospect of their cruciate.

“I’m sure all the AFLW clubs are doing that but nonetheless they’re still vulnerable.”

Daria Bannister tore her ACL in Round 1. Picture: Getty

Huntington, last year’s No.1 draft pick, had been the best player on the ground before she was injured.

The 18-year-old kicked two goals in two minutes as the Bulldogs put a space on the Lions.

Last year there was also a spate of ACL tears, which prompted AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan to voice his concern.

For most AFLW players the gruelling pre-season training programs they have undertaken ahead of the first and second seasons is the most intense training of their football careers.

The increase in training load, Brukner said, is also a factor for the spate of ACL tears but there are ways to decrease the risk.

“That’s pretty clear that any sort of sudden increases in load that makes people very susceptible (to injury),” he told RSN927.

Carlton captain Bri Davey was stretchered from the field on Friday night.

“A lot of them are coming off other sports or haven’t had the intensity of training and playing in the AFL.

“But it’s not surprising in the first couple of seasons that the sudden jump in the amount of stress they’re putting on their bodies and amount of load they’re putting through their bodies lead to increase in injuries.

“I think over the next couple of years that will sort of settle down as they have a more gradual increase in their load.

“It’s something that they really need to focus on and work on and maybe need to increase the amount of prevention work they’re doing.”

Have been overwhelmed with the amount of support and love shown by you all over the past few days after the diagnosis of my ACL. So just wanted to say a big thank you to you all for all of the lovely messages and kind words, means a lot 💕

— Brianna Davey (@BriannaDavey) February 13, 2018

Brukner also believes playing on harder grounds is a contributing factor, both in men’s and women’s football.

“Always in the men’s AFL there’s been more ACL ruptures in pre-season and the early part of the season and that’s thought to be partly due to the harder grounds and partly due to the load they put on (in training) and the fatigue in pre-season,” he said.

“It’s pretty well established that the harder grounds make you more susceptible to doing an anterior cruciate injury.

“It’s a combination of factors at this time of the year for the women.”

McLachlan last year believed a “second year of conditioning” would see a reduction in serious knee injuries in AFLW.

“It is (a concern), but I think the context is the step up and the short period of conditioning to do that,” he said.

“The incidence of knee injuries for men is significantly higher at the start of the season because it’s the fastest they’ve come in and they’re the fittest and freshest.

“I think that it will be mitigated when the women have a second year of conditioning and are better able to deal with it.”

The injury issues in the AFLW come as the league ­declared last week’s “spirit of the game” memo to clubs a success, despite statistics showing little difference in congestion between Rounds 1 and 2.

The memo asked coaches to start with five forwards, six centre players and five defenders at all centre bounces and for players to adhere to a 15m protected area for midfielders around stoppages.

Champion Data statistics showed the measures had little effect. Three fewer ball-ups a game were offset by an average of four more throw-ins.

Secondary stoppages from ball-ups were up three a game.

Average total scores in the weekend’s four matches came in at 60 points, the same as Round 1 and three points fewer than last season’s average.

AFLW boss Nicole Livingstone said she was happy with the round’s matches. “Round 2 provided many highlights ... in particular the record crowds,” she said. “More often than not we saw the ball moving well out of stoppages.”

AFLW MIA

Samantha Virgo (Brisbane) — ruptured ACL during QWAFL grand final in August

Ainslie Kemp (Melbourne) — ruptured ACL at training in January

Daria Bannister (Western Bulldogs) — ruptured ACL in Round 1 match v Fremantle

Brianna Davey (Carlton) — ruptured ACL in Round 2 match v GWS

Isabel Huntington (Western Bulldogs) — ruptured ACL in Round 2 match v Brisbane

Brianna Green (Fremantle) — ruptured ACL at training last week