Which sport is listed as having a higher risk of LCL injury?

Which sport is listed as having a higher risk of LCL injury?

• A. Tennis
• B. Gymnastics
• C. Soccer
• D. Running

Answer: (A)

LCL injuries happen with varus stress on the knee—the knee is pushed outward relative to the thigh. Tennis tasks you with rapid lateral movements, quick cuts, and side-to-side shuffles, which frequently produce that varus load across the knee and strain the LCL. Other sports listed tend to stress the knee differently: running is mainly repetitive flexion-extension with less lateral force, soccer more often involves twisting that jeopardizes the ACL, and gymnastics involves various landing and twisting injuries but not as commonly the LCL. Because of the frequent lateral forces in tennis, it’s identified as having the higher risk for LCL injury.

LCL injuries happen with varus stress on the knee—the knee is pushed outward relative to the thigh. Tennis tasks you with rapid lateral movements, quick cuts, and side-to-side shuffles, which frequently produce that varus load across the knee and strain the LCL. Other sports listed tend to stress the knee differently: running is mainly repetitive flexion-extension with less lateral force, soccer more often involves twisting that jeopardizes the ACL, and gymnastics involves various landing and twisting injuries but not as commonly the LCL. Because of the frequent lateral forces in tennis, it’s identified as having the higher risk for LCL injury.