An Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury is one of the most common lower extremity traumatic injuries reported in athletic populations, particularly in sports that involve pivoting and cutting, such as soccer, basketball, football, and snow-skiing. In fact, up to 250,000 ACL injuries are reported in the United States alone every year. Although many contributing factors have been identified in ACL injuries, both modifiable and non-modifiable, a novel theory has recently been proposed which involves the athlete’s nutrition, specifically Vitamin D.
It is well-known that nutrition contributes to athletic performance. Furthermore, a nutritional deficit not only negatively impacts performance, but inhibits recovery and increases injury risk as well. A recent study in the Journal of Arthroscopy has indicated a strong correlation between Vitamin D deficiency and ACL injury. In this retrospective study of 320,000 people, there was an 81% increase in the ACL injury rate in people diagnosed with Vitamin D deficiency compared to age-matched controls. Interestingly, it is suspected that Vitamin D deficiency can affect up to 49% of adolescent females in the United States.
Could Vitamin D deficiency be a contributing factor in our high rates of ACL injury in youth sports?
Vitamin D plays a role in many physiological and cellular processes within the body. Related to muscular health, Vitamin D deficiency has been shown to promote Type II muscle fiber atrophy, which can lead to decreased fast twitch muscle activity (i.e., slower rates of force development) which is necessary for athletic performance, joint stability, and injury prevention. Furthermore, in other articles, Vitamin D supplementation in various groups have been shown to increase muscle strength and athletic performance.
Although there is not a direct cause and effect proven in the literature, the strong correlation between Vitamin. D deficiency and higher rates of ACL injury certainly points to a need to monitor nutritional intake, especially in “at-risk” populations, such as female youth athletes in pivoting sports.
