AU - Saki, Farzaneh AU - Daneshmandi, Hasan AU - Rajabi, Reza AU - Mohammadpour, Shadan TI - Neuromuscular and biomechanical risk factors associated with ACL Injury in female athletes PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE TA - HBI_Journals JN - HBI_Journals VO - 18 VI - 3 IP - 3 4099 - http://sjku.muk.ac.ir/article-1-1133-en.html 4100 - http://sjku.muk.ac.ir/article-1-1133-en.pdf SO - HBI_Journals 3 AB  - ABSTRACT Although intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury have been investigated extensively, the neuromuscular and the biomechanical risk factors associated with this injury in female athletes are not yet well understood. This systematic review summarizes all the relevant biomechanical and neuromuscular risk factors associated with ACL injury. We used electronic databases of PubMed MEDLINE (1966– 2012), SCIENSEDIRECT (1982 – 2012) and SportDiscus (1985– 2012) for literature searching to identify the studies on ACL injury risk factors. We found a total of 152 articles. 52 of these studies had focused on neuromuscular and biomechanical risk factors. Investigation of the articles showed four neuromuscular imbalances: ligament dominance, quadriceps dominance, leg dominance, and trunk dominance. Existing evidence suggests that these four neuromuscular imbalances may be associated with the underlying ACL injury mechanisms. Also, review of the studies indicated that ACL injuries are more likely to occur during multi-planar rather than single-planar mechanisms of injury. Screening and detection of these imbalances are important in order to identify athletes at risk of ACL injury. Identification of faulty movement patterns would allow for implementation of specific interventions, targeted at prevention of these problems. Keywords: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), Knee injury, Risk factor Received: Sep 8, 2012 Accepted: Jan 7, 2013 Conflict of interest: None declared CP - IRAN IN - PhD candidate of sport injury and corrective exercise, faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Tehran (Corresponding Author) Tel:+98-021-82095954 LG - eng PB - HBI_Journals PG - 112 PT - Original Research YR - 2013