Critical appraisal of "A randomized controlled trial to prevent noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injury in female collegiate soccer players"

The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of a pre-activity warmup on prevention of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears. It was a retrospective study involving 852 control athletes and 583 athletes who received the intervention. The teams athletic training staff were instructed on implementation of the program and were entrusted to administer the warmup before every athletic encounter (AE). Many different metrics concerning ACL injuries were calculated. Noncontact ACL injuries as well as re-injury of those with a history of ACL injuries both showed significantly lower instances than their counterparts in the control group. Due to the evidence of efficacy and ease of implementation, this warmup program should be introduced to reduce the risk of noncontact ACL injuries as well as a reduced risk of re-injury a previously damaged ACL.