Lesione del legamento crociato anteriore nel calcio: fattori di rischio non modificabili.

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) lesion represents one of the most dramatic injuries that can occur to a sportsman in their career. There are many injury risk factors which can be related to either intrinsic (non-modifiable) or extrinsic (modifiable) causes. Evidence in the current literature suggests that ACL injury risk is multifactorial in nature and involves biomechanical, anatomical, hormonal and neuromuscular factors. Among the biomechanical factors, valgus knee alignment represents one of the most frequent biomechanical risk factors. Gender represents another an important risk factor, with females being more predisposed to ACL injury than males. However, there are still some theoretical aspects, e.g. genetic-based risk and the role of hormonal receptors, that need further investigation in females. In this first part, we will describe the intrinsic, or non-modifiable, risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]