Every year, more than 200,000 people in United States injure their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). The ACL Program at Boston Children’s Hospital has the expertise in ACL repair to help these athletes recover. Our research-based injury prevention services help reduce our patients’ risk of repeat ACL tears or sprains. We also offer comprehensive psychological support, if needed, to address the social and emotional impact of an ACL injury.
Our patients include everyone from aspiring novices to Olympic competitors. We tailor our ACL reconstruction techniques to match each patient’s age and physical maturity.
Our goal is the same as yours — a healthy and strong return to play.
Hundreds of athletes with ACL injuries come to our program every year for our expertise, and more than 90 percent return to their sport. We work as a team with patients and families to help athletes come back as strong, or stronger, than they were before their injury.
As part of the Sports Medicine Division at Boston Children’s Hospital, our team of orthopedic surgeons and sports medicine specialists are experts in caring for all types of knee damage, including injuries of the ACL, meniscus, and articular cartilage.
In this episode of Boston Children’s Parentcast, host Dr. Jennifer Arnold speaks with Dr. Mininder Kocher, an orthopedic surgeon and chief of Boston Children’s Sports Medicine Division. Together, they break down the causes, treatments, and prevention strategies for ACL injuries.
Our multidisciplinary team includes:
When an athlete is sprinting after an opponent who suddenly stops or changes direction, their anterior cruciate ligaments (ACLs) make it possible for them to continue their pursuit. This much talked…
From her dorm in Newcastle, England, Jackie Zapata can hear fans roaring in the soccer stadium a few blocks away. Soccer is a major pastime in her adopted home. “The city gets amped up anytime there…
About one in seven adults live with degenerative joint disease, also known as osteoarthritis (OA). In recent years, as anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and other joint injuries have become…
Thanks to our unique partnership with The Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention, our patients have access to strength training and rehabilitation programs to help prevent ACL injury, or return to play safely after surgery.
Located in the same building as the Boston Children’s Waltham facility, The Micheli Center offers an ACL Injury Prevention Program. These small-group classes focus on strengthening participants’ knees, hips, and the muscles around them. Injury prevention specialists also teach athletes proper landing and squatting techniques, two motions that frequently cause ACL tears when performed incorrectly.
The Micheli Center also provides an ACL Return to Play Program for patients who have undergone ACL surgery at Boston Children’s. After surgery and physical therapy, patients work with specialists at the Micheli Center for six to 12 months to build strength, flexibility, and agility in the muscles that support and surround their knees. The program includes testing to determine when the athlete is ready to return to their sport without reinjuring their knee.
These educational guides, developed by the clinicians at Boston Children’s, can help athletes reduce their risk of injury during practice and competition.
While ACL injuries are not entirely preventable, athletes can reduce their risk in a number of ways. This guide describes the role of fitness, targeted exercises, and proper athletic technique in safe athletic participation.
Girls are five times more likely to tear an ACL than boys. This guide describes how female athletes can reduce their risk of injury through neuromuscular training to strengthen and stretch key muscle groups while also improving their agility.
As youth sports have become more competitive, ACL injuries in pre-adolescent and adolescent patients have risen dramatically. Not only is this the sub-population at greatest risk for a primary ACL injury, compared to all other age groups, these young athletes also have the highest rates of re-injury after surgery for an ACL tear.
Several ACL reconstruction methods have been developed for younger athletes, yet little research exists to help surgeons determine which of these methods are most effective for a patient based on their stage of growth and physical maturity, gender, and medical history.
In order to reduce variability and improve outcomes for all young athletes with torn ACLs, our team is working to close this gap in knowledge. Our current research includes:
