Background: To investigate anthropometric, lower limb alignment and playing exposure characteristics among sportswomen in different sports which might have a bearing on the anterior cruciate ligament injury rate and risk differences. Methods: Prospective descriptive study. Slovenian sportswomen registered in the Slovenian National Organisations of basketball, team handball and volleyball participated in the study. Anthropometric characteristics, lower limb alignment characteristics and playing exposure characteristics were compared between sportswomen in different sport groups. Results: Statistically significant differences (P < 0,05) were found between the different sport groups for the following variables: age, body mass and height, body mass index, duration of sport participation, average hours of training and games per week, and knee anterior laxity. The other collected variables (knee passive extension and foot pronation) did not show statistically significant differences between the three sports groups. Conclusions: Differences in body height, training exposure and knee anterior laxity might have a bearing on the ACL injury risk and rates differences among sportswomen in different sports.
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