Awareness of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Preventive Training Programs among Female Collegiate Athletes in Western province, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Anterior Cruciate Ligament injuries can be identified as a significant problem among young female athletes, and they are at a higher risk of sustaining injuries than male athletes. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the awareness of anterior cruciate ligament preventive training programs among female collegiate athletes in the Western Province of Sri Lanka. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted by selecting a sample of 120 female collegiate athletes in the Western Province of Sri Lanka. The snowball sampling technique was used to distribute a self-administered, open-ended questionnaire. The collected data were descriptively analyzed using statistical software, SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences), version 27. The questionnaire was circulated among female collegiate athletes, of whom the majority were under the age of 23 (18.3%, n = 22). The majority of the participants were not aware of what an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is (77.5%, n = 93). Most of the participants expressed that they were not educated on ACL injuries (85.8%, n = 102). The majority of the participants agreed that they were not familiar with the concept of ACL preventive training programs (81.7%, n = 98). The percentage of athletes who currently perform ACL preventive training programs was significantly low (8.3%, n = 10). Most of the participants agreed that they would follow a daily exercise program if they knew it would prevent ACL injuries (76.7%, n = 92). The majority of the participants were not aware of the concept of ACL preventive training programs. Therefore, awareness programs and exercise routines to prevent ACL injuries should be implemented.