A new study has revealed that women who are taking the contraceptive pill may be less likely to suffer a serious knee injury, according to a new study.
Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears are one of the most common types of injuries among athletes, and are two to eight times more common in women than men.
Many are unable to return to athletic competition after suffering an ACL tear, and it and can lead to complications further down the line, such as arthritis .
However, a large observational study involving over 165,000 female patients by researchers at Brown University found that oral contraceptives may lower the risk of ACL tears.
Moreover, results showed that women taking oral contraceptives who did suffer an ACL tear were 18% less likely to require reconstructive surgery.
The pill was found to be most protective in young women aged 15-19 years, who were 63% less likely to need reconstructive surgery following ACL injury compared with aged-matched controls.
The authors speculate that taking pills containing the hormones estrogen and progesterone may suppress the hormonal surges during the menstrual cycle, leading to a lower rate of injury.