THE EFFECTS OF MATURATION ON ACL LOADING, MUSCLE COORDINATION, AND METABOLIC COST IN ADOLESCENT FEMALE SOCCER PLAYERS

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries remain a significant, season-ending injury in youth soccer, with young female athletes exhibiting higher incidence rates compared to young male athletes. ACL injury rates increase with older ages, with female soccer players 15 years or older being at an almost twofold increased rate of injury compared to young female soccer players. Several biomechanical and neuromuscular changes occur during the maturation process, becoming more prevalent in young females, that can place them at an increased risk for ACL injury. These biomechanical and neuromuscular changes can affect how efficient young females are when completing high-risk, dynamic tasks where injuries are prone to happen. Musculoskeletal modeling can provide researchers detailed information about how elements in the musculoskeletal system interact to produce movement and assist in identifying causal relationships between movement strategies and abnormal biomechanics. Specifically, this method offers an approach to estimate ACL loading, understand how individual muscles contribute to whole-body center of mass acceleration during risky movements, and analyze individual muscle energy consumption during dynamic tasks. Understanding how lower extremity musculature and maturation status affects ACL loading and movement efficiency during high-risk movements in young female soccer athletes can aid researchers and clinicians in creating improved injury prevention programs at the musculature level that may better target those who are at an increased of injury during high-risk tasks. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of maturation on ACL loading, muscle coordination, and movement efficiency during unanticipated sidestep cutting and drop vertical jump in young female soccer players.