Abstract
This chapter reviews the role of the core and core stability in preventing ACL injuries. Core stability represents the ability of the core, or the muscles of the abdomen and lower back, to maintain or resume a relative position [or trajectory] of the trunk after a perturbation. Poor trunk control and core stability may place an athlete in a position that results in adverse loading of the knee, leading to injury. Training programs incorporating core-specific exercises have been successful at reducing ACL injury risk, but the extent to which the core-specific exercises influenced the reduction in injury risk is unknown. Reducing trunk angles, medializing the center of mass, and shifting the center of mass anteriorly more over the foot are all associated with reduced knee moments and may lead to reduced ACL injury risk.
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Notes
- 1.
The published literature contains two definitions of the musculoskeletal “core” of the body. The classic description includes all of the muscles of the trunk and pelvis required for stability of the spine and pelvis during activities. The second definition includes all trunk musculature, along with the hip muscles, required for stabilization of the pelvis and trunk during activities. In this chapter, the first definition of core is used by the authors.
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Acknowledgment
The authors would like to thank Steve McConoughey, Ph.D. for his editorial assistance with this manuscript.
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Chaudhari, A.M.W., Jamison, S.T., Best, T.M. (2012). Proximal Risk Factors for ACL Injury: Role of Core Stability. In: Noyes, F., Barber-Westin, S. (eds) ACL Injuries in the Female Athlete. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-32592-2_9
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