Nakul Ramesh

Case Studies in American Football ACL Mechanisms of Injury

Started June 15, 2021

Abstract or project description

Two brief (~750 words) blog posts will be written describing the circumstances and contributing factors to (1) contact and (2) non-contact ACL injury in American Football. The contact blog post is on Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow's ACL injury during the 2020-2021 NFL season. It describes what happens during a contact ACL injury and looks at risk factors for contact ACL injuries and how they apply in this case study. It also examines return to play statistics for players with similar injuries and takes a look at Burrow's future and what his team has done to help him succeed in the NFL. The non-contact blog post is on Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook's ACL injury during the 2017-2018 NFL season. Similar to the last post, it looks at risk factors for non-contact ACL injuries and how they apply to this case study. Since this injury didn't happen recently, the blog post looks at what Cook did when he returned to the field and how his injury impacted his play. Case studies allow us to understand more about actual situations by using observed risk factors. During this project, I learned about these risk factors and mechanisms that contribute to ACL injuries. I also learned about different positions the body can be in that potentially excaerbate the effect of an ACL injury. Writing these posts will allow me to continue this project into the future by looking at other contact or non-contact ACL injuries and applying what I have learned to these case studies.