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Why are ACL injuries so common? You always hear of some athlete or another tearing his or her ACL.

The ACL, the anterior cruciate ligament, is a major ligament of the knee. It is one of four ligaments that allow you to move your knee as you do.

The reason it is a common injury among certain types of athletes is because of the movements the athletes make. Certain sports, like basketball, have a high risk of ACL injury. It's the stopping and starting, and turning that can put the strain on the knee and injure the ligament.

Of course, you don't have to be an athlete to injure your ACL. Many people are injured doing every day things but they fall or turn the wrong way, causing the ACL to tear.

Reference: 

Jin Hwan Ahn, MD, et al. Comparison of Revision Surgery with Primary Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction and Outcome of Revision Surgery Between Different Graft Materials. In American Journal of Sports Medicine. October 2008. Vol. 36. No. 10. Pp. 1888-1896.

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