It would be strange to think that even a Yankees’ hater could want Mariano Rivera’s career to end with a freak  a torn right ACL that he suffered while shagging fly balls during batting practice. See the story here. It seems that sports are the nemesis of knees. Even professionals are not immune.  Female athletes  are 5 times more likely to injure their ACL than the male athlete (participating in intensive leg use sports).

If you don’t injure your knee you won’t need surgery. Ways to avoid sports injuries and ACL/MCL/Knee surgery:

• Avoid crossing your legs; doing so strains the joint of the knee.
• Don’t sit on your feet because this also puts a lot of distress on your knee joint.

Ways to help with stretches that should be performed before any athletic exercise:

Stretch by bending overt at the back and touch your toes keeping your back flat. Hold this for 20 seconds. Take 30 seconds to rest then repeat a couple more times.

Lie on your back with one leg straight while the other one is bend at the knee. Lift the straight leg and pull it gently toward you for 20 seconds. Repeat this with the other leg for 2 more sets each.

Increase the strength of the muscles of your legs by performing specific exercises.

• Warm up by riding a stationary bicycle for 20 minutes.
• Perform leg extension exercises with low weights to increase the range of motion of your knees with controlled slow reps.

So, do yourself a favor and work on these exercises to prevent the need for future knee/ACL surgery. Learn more about ACL knee surgery at SportsmedAlabama.