It can devastate a young athletes career, but not always

By Jim Murray, KTVZ.COM

In the emotion-filled world of girls' high school sports, the competition is fierce and often violent.

In 1972, when title IX took effect, an estimated 300,000 girls participated in high school sports. Today, that number tops 3 million.

But the increase in participation is a double-edged sword.

Female athletes are sustaining debilitating and career-altering ACL knee injuries at an alarming rate.

Medical studies estimate that female athletes are 4-8 times more likely to sustain ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injuries than their male counterparts.

More shocking; Statistics indicate that one out of 50 girls participating in high school sports will tear their ACLs.

"It's not so much the way the girls develop, but more the way that girls use their bodies," said Dr. Cara Walther, an orthopedic surgeon at Desert Orthopedics in Bend.

Walther recently performed reconstructive ACL surgery on Bethany Chriss, a senior volleyball player at Summit High School.

Chriss recalls, "I went up and I heard something pop, and then I just went down."

Chriss is just the latest Central Oregon female athlete dealing with what has been called the most devastating of all orthopedic injuries.

Former All-State Crook County Cowgirl Jessica Lea tore her ACL at the end of her sophomore year. But after rigorous rehab, she returned in time to win a state championship in volleyball in her junior year.

Former Mountain View Cougar Alicia Love also tore her ACL, and it took a year for her to get back to 100 percent.

Mountain View girls basketball Coach J.J. Anderson said, "I've seen five in the last three years, and that doesn't even count the ones that I have seen around Central Oregon. So I would say it is a problem for sure."

Anderson has been coaching both girls and boys for the past decade.  And while most medical experts believe physical and developmental differences are to blame for the increased frequency of ACL injuries in female athletes, Anderson believes another dynamic is also at work.

"I think girls are more willing to be more physical, to go 100 percent, and things have escalated so much and now there is so much on the line, and the competition is more intense," Anderson said.

ACL injuries are physically incapacitating, and recovery and rehab can often take up to a year. But what is often overlooked is how much the injury can effect an athlete's sense of self identity.

Summit track Coach Dave Turnbull said, "It really can affect a young athlete's identity. They aren't around their team, and it can take a real emotional effect."

Sports medicine is doing its part to combat the epidemic of ACL injuries in female athletes.

Walther has developed a program called Knee Bound that focuses on teaching proper landing technique, and on strengthening muscles.

In studies, these injury prevention programs have been successful in preventing ACL injuries, but the key will be to get coaches to believe in these programs and to get girls enrolled earlier in their development.

As for Bethany Chriss from Summit, her rehab is going very well and she hopes to be 100 percent for her senior season of softball in the spring.

"It hasn't been the worst thing ever," she said. "It helped me realize how good things are."