Built different: Why women athletes suffer ACL injuries more than males

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• 00:00

  This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the uk.

• 00:04

  This is a documentary from the BBC World Service.

• 00:11

  I'm Leanne Sanderson, broadcaster and former England professional footballer.

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  I began playing football in Southeast London at the age of 5 years old for an all boys team because there was no other girls teams in the local area.

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  I then got scouted for Arsenal at 9 years old.

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  Made my debut for the Arsenal 30 when I was 14 and never looked back.

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  In 2016 I suffered an ACL injury whilst playing for the Western New York Flash.

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  ACL stands for anterior Cruciate Ligament Football focused studies suggest women are six times more likely to suffer ACL injuries compared to men and are 25% less likely to make a full return to high level football.

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  But let's start at the top.

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  What exactly is an ACL injury?

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  So this is my knee.

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  This is the kneecap in front of the knee.

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  This is my shin bone, the tibia, my thigh bone, the femur underneath here.

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  My muscles are around there and the ACL is in the middle.

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  This is physio Harvard Monksky at the Oslo Sports Trauma Research center in Norway.

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  And it's supposed to stop the rotation of the tibia in this direction.

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  So if it goes too far, it ruptures and the thigh bone will slide off the chin bone and come back in.

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  That's when the ACL ruptures.

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  And here you can see the scar and this is where they take the tendon out to replace the acl.

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  And this is an experience I only know too well.

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