ACL injuries are getting worse—and fast!

• A national consortium using High School RIO data identified a 25.9% jump in average annual ACL injury rates between 2007–2022, reaching about 7.3 injuries per 100,000 athlete-exposures Project Play.

• Rate increases were most pronounced in girls’ sports (up 32.3%; in girls’ volleyball a nearly 97% increase) and across cutting and landing sports like soccer, basketball, and lacrosse Project Play.

• Experts in Australia describe the situation as an “epidemic,” noting >6% annual rises in ACL injuries among girls aged 14 and under, reinforcing the global nature of the trend Adelaide Now.

• Increased rates also reflect earlier specialization in a single sport, higher volume and intensity of training, and better detection via imaging—but the underlying takeaway remains: more youth athletes are tearing ACLs now than ever before