SATURDAY, March 28, 2015 (HealthDay News) — One-third of young athletes who have surgery to repair the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the knee suffer another ACL injury later in life, new research finds.

“Our study shows that young knees are more prone to re-injury than the adult population when compared to other research in this area, and is the first study to examine the incidence and risk factors for further ACL injury in a solely juvenile population over the long term,” study author Dr. Justin Roe, of the North Sydney Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Centre in Australia, said in a society news release.

“While surgery still may be the best option for many ACL injuries, it brings to light the important factors physicians must consider when treating the younger population,” he added.

The Australian researchers looked at nearly 250 athletes who had ACL reconstruction surgery between 1993 and 1998. They were all 18 and younger when they had surgery. Rugby or soccer was the sport of choice for about half of the athletes.

More than two-thirds of the athletes returned to their normal level of sports activity after surgery.

In the 15 years after ACL surgery, 75 (31 percent) of the athletes had another ACL injury, according to the study.

The findings were to be presented Saturday at an American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine meeting in Las Vegas. Findings presented at meetings are generally viewed as preliminary until they’ve been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

— Robert Preidt

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SOURCE: American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, news release, March 28, 2015