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ACL injury prevention – Part4 (Trunk Dominance )

The last but not the least factor that could be a cause of ACL injury according to authors. For those athletes, typically women, who do not adequately sense the position of their trunk in three-dimensional space or allow greater movement following a perturbation or disturbance of their trunk, have a greater risk of future knee, ligament, an ACL injury.

To make it simple trunk dominance is simply defined as the inability to precisely control the trunk in three-dimensional space. Trunk dominance may be related to growth and maturation factors. What does that mean?

Authors highlighted if you observe a young woman who has just experienced a growth spurt; she has a bigger “machine” to manage her existing motor programs and strategies. The growth spurt may be linked to putting someone on stilts. So, if an average 10 or 11-year-old female grows ten to fifteen centimeters (4-6 inches) in a year she basically functions as if on stilts. As female mature, they also increase body mass than their male counterparts. Her center of mass is higher off the ground, therefore, it is harder for her to control and balance her body.

Very important factor, After the adolescent growth spurt, male get what is called a “neuromuscular spurts ” where they experience muscular development and get proportionately more powerful. So, although males get a bigger “machine” after a growth spurt they get a much bigger sized engine in relation to the size of the machine.

In contrast, in women and girls, that ratio between the size of the machine and the size and the power output of the engine, basically stays the same and does not adapt to the increased demands. After maturation, females experience a more massive trunk, a center mass located higher off the ground and fat and lean body mass redistributed in novel ways, but don’t get the more powerful engine to control that bigger machine. When examining videos of the soccer field, she will frequently have an excess motion of the trunk (Trunk Dominance). 

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Dublin Sports Injury Clinic is a Physical Therapy Clinic based in Pearse Street, Dublin 2. We have a holistic approach to our assessment and treatment. The initial assessment helps us to explore the Risk Factors. As a part of your session, we will educate you regarding the Risk Factors more in details and we show you the current research studies. We design a customized training program to start you with (depend on your sport) and we will coach you closely step by step. The timeline and period of the program could be varied for every individual. We do not only coach you on the physical aspects, we also help you to develop the mental aspects of your game.

Disclaimer: This article is for information only and should not be used for the diagnosis or treatment of medical conditions. You can contact us if you would like to book an appointment or get some advice from our therapist.