It’s an athlete’s worst fear. Hearing a loud “pop” and feeling severe pain are usually the first signs you’ve torn your anterior cruciate ligament, also known as the ACL.

The ACL connects your shin and thigh bones, and is one of the key ligaments that help stabilise your knee joint.

Research suggests ACL injuries are becoming increasingly common across all age groups. Children as young as ten are rupturing their ACLs, with many never regaining their pre-injury strength or ability.

So how do ACL injuries happen? And what makes them so serious?

The ACL is an indispensable part of your knee joint. Its main job is to keep your knee stable by stopping it from rotating or extending too much. This is especially important if you regularly twist, pivot or land on your knee joint.

ACL injuries are most often a result of the fatigue-failure process. This is the idea that repeatedly using and putting strain on the ACL, without proper training, makes it significantly weaker over time.

Doing specific strength exercises and regular physical activity can help slow this........

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