Research summary · Injury prevention
ACL prevention guidance separates proven team programmes from targeted strategies
This Exercise and Sport Science Australia statement combines two systematic searches covering exercise-based injury prevention and prospective ACL risk factors, alongside biomechanical evidence. It proposes a two-tier approach rather than treating all prevention exercises as equally established.
- Publication year
- 2026
- First published online
- Publication type
- Position statement informed by systematic literature searches and mechanistic evidence
- Journal
- Sports Medicine
- Population / context
- Soccer · Basketball · Handball · Cutting and landing sports
What the publication reports
The first tier prioritizes multicomponent neuromuscular warm-ups, supported particularly in adolescent female team-sport players. The second targets individual movement and strength deficits. Direct evidence that these individualized strategies reduce actual ACL injury incidence remains limited.
Limits and interpretation
Evidence is uneven across sexes, competition levels and sports, and implementation and adherence matter. One author performed searching, screening and extraction. Mechanistic changes in knee loading are not themselves proof of fewer injuries, and no programme eliminates ACL injury risk.
Read the source
Consult the original record for the full author list, methods, references, funding and competing-interest disclosures.
An Evidence-Based and Mechanistic Approach to Reducing the Risk of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury: An Exercise and Sport Science Australia Position Statement
Original publication / indexed recordPMID: 42133198DOI: 10.1007/s40279-026-02450-3Full text at the sourceReader discussion
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