Christen Press, Catarina Macario, Vivianne Miedema, Leah Williamson, Beth Mead, Janine Beckie — some of the biggest names in soccer will be missing the 2023 Women’s World Cup due to ACL injuries alone. The frequency of the injury in women’s soccer has been talked about for decades, but are ACL tears on the rise? And why is this devastating injury so prevalent in the women’s game specifically? In this episode, we ask a physical therapist and former women’s professional soccer player for her perspective on the issue and path moving forward. 

Hosts: Katie McCallum (interviewer), John Dabkowski

Expert: Jordan Jackson, Physical Therapist and Former Professional Soccer Player

Notable topics covered: 

• From youth to club to pro soccer, Jordan weighs in on how she's seen injury shape careers 
• Jordan never tore her ACL, but she also had a unique training experience growing up 
• Are ACL tears in women’s soccer on the rise, or are we just hearing about them more now? 
• Women are more likely to tear (and re-tear) their ACLs, but why? 
• Moving beyond the conversation about women’s wider hips, knee valgus and quad/hamstring ratio 
• Is wider adoption of movement training the key to reducing injuries? 
• What the research says about menstrual cycles and injuries 
• Why prevention and rehab strategies will need to be personalized 
• Studying the benefit of movement training in girls’ youth sports 
• The research says it all — now it’s time for meaningful change 

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