Comparison of Injuries to the Anterior Cruciate Ligament in Male Soccer and Football Athletes and the Effect of Varying Rehabilitation on Recovery Time

Injuries are commonplace when a sport involves high levels of physical contact and quick movements. Athletes often strain or tear muscles and sprain ligaments when they are putting above normal levels of stress on the connection points through their explosive motions and high force collisions. Two sports where this is particularly common are soccer and football. Due to the high levels of running and cutting in both sports, lower body injuries, particularly to the knee are some of the most common injuries that occur. The purpose of this study was to take a retrospective look at ACL tears in college football and male soccer athletes, and to analyze their recovery period to determine if the sport that the athlete participated in affected their return to play duration. In this study, the recovery of six football players and two soccer players was analyzed based on the exercises they completed during their therapy. The results found were that the soccer players had more rehab sessions in which they did more range of motion exercises and recovered significantly faster