Figure 6.

Diagram illustrating the inverse relationship between force applied to the ACL during athletic manoeuvres and the number of near-maximal loading cycles it can withstand before failing. Evidence suggests that as the force applied to the ACL decreases per loading cycle, the number of loading cycles leading to ACL failure increases, and vice versa. The precise nature of this relationship is unknown, however, and most likely depends on many factors such as age, the time interval between cycles and the ACL’s structural properties. It should be noted that these near-maximal ACL loading cycles represent a very small fraction of the total ACL loading cycles that occur in a typical practice session. UTS* refers to the ultimate tensile strength of a healthy ligament.