Hormonal therapy: ACL and ankle injury.
BACKGROUND
No definitive explanation for the difference in rate of male and female noncontact ACL injury has been found. The hormonal environment, known to be different in men and women has been hypothesized as a possible source for this difference in injury rate.


OBJECTIVE
To confirm earlier work looking at periodicity of noncontact ACL injury. To increase sample size by adding ankle sprains. To determine the rate of noncontact ACL injury and ankle sprains in collegiate basketball and soccer. To determine if the use of oral contraceptives affects the rate of noncontact ACL injury and ankle sprains.


METHODS
Data was collected from a sample of NCAA schools over the 2000-2001 basketball and the 2001-2002 basketball and soccer seasons.


RESULTS
Recall and prospective data collection of length of menstrual cycle did not produce equivalent results. Periodicity was present only in the recall group of "off pill" users. The rate of noncontact ACL injury and noncontact ankle sprains was twice as high in basketball as in soccer. There was no difference in rate of injuries between those athletes using hormonal therapy and those athletes not using hormonal therapy.


CONCLUSIONS
Noncontact ACL injuries and ankle sprains occurred at significantly higher rates in basketball than in soccer but this rate difference was not linked to hormonal therapy usage. The overall rate of noncontact ACL injury and ankle sprain to women's collegiate basketball and soccer players is very low.
Agel
Julie
J
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55454, USA. agelx001@umn.edu
Bershadsky
Boris
B
Arendt
Elizabeth A
EA
D000328:Adult; D016512:Ankle Injuries / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000070598:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries; D001490:Basketball / Q000293:injuries; D003278:Contraceptives, Oral, Hormonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011939:Mental Recall; D012916:Soccer / Q000293:injuries; D014481:United States
D003278:Contraceptives, Oral, Hormonal