It’s estimated that tens of thousands of girls tear their ACLs each year, which is far too many.

The ACL is a very vital part of your knee, holding together your femur and tibia. Tearing this can cause extreme pain and the inability to run or jump.

   Women’s research on ACL tears is not progressing as fast as girls are tearing them. Every time a girl tears it, she’s often put into a rehabilitation program — if she chooses — to help monitor her recovery, track her progress and watch her growth.

As she regains strength and undergoes physical therapy, specialists measure the improvement in her muscles, balance and movement patterns over time. However, the biggest challenge in this process is that doctors often lack information on how or why each injury happened.

Studies have shown that girls are up to eight times more likely than boys to tear their ACLs because of differences in anatomy, hormones and the way their bodies move during certain sports, some of the most common being soccer, basketball and lacrosse.

Because research is lacking, most of the existing research and injury-prevention training was originally designed for men. As a result, many female athletes don’t receive programs that will help strengthen them properly, leaving them more vulnerable.

The average ACL tear can take anywhere from six to nine months to recover. However, for girls, it can end up taking a lot longer — anywhere from 12 or more months. It’s also very common for people to blame aspects of the turf or the skills being taught in youth sports.

I believe it’s from the competitive nature growing throughout all sports, being taught from an early age to be more aggressive and competitive can be disastrous for injuries.

Experts are now calling for more studies focused on women and girls, better prevention programs in youth sports and education for coaches and trainers. Until everyone notices this dilemma, too many girls will continue facing the same painful, frustrating injury that, in many cases, could have been prevented.