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Women experience higher ACL tear and re-tear rates than men, for both physiological and psychological reasons. Cordelia W. Carter, MD, director of the Center for Women’s Sports Health at ��ɫtv Langone, believes that higher ACL re-tear rates in women could be due partly to the fact that women are more risk-averse than men.

“ACL tears happen in a nanosecond,” says Dr. Carter, clinical associate professor in the . “If you don’t trust your knee, if you have that feeling in the back of your mind, it’s going to prevent you from moving fluidly, and that’s a problem,” she tells Outside magazine.

Dr. Carter encourages people to better advocate for their needs during recovery by working with a physical therapist on the activities that may cause anxiety. “Practice those skills in a safe environment so you can then take them out into the real world,” she says.

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