According to the CDC, there are about 250,000 sprains and tears to the anterior cruciate ligament reported each year, a ligament that is crucial to normal knee function. And some of these injuries may be a result of being startled by loud noises such as honking horns and sirens or buzzers and shouts during a sports competition. According to researchers from the University of the Sciences, Appalachian State University and the University of Delaware, the loud noises may disrupt the muscles and ligaments responsible for stabilizing the knee, resulting in falls. The connection between knee injuries and loud noises seems kind of obvious to us.
To examine the response to loud noises more closely, researchers examined the responses of 18 men and 18 women from the University of Delaware to a high pitched beep, equivalent to the volume of a motorcycle. The beep was followed by a forced bending of the knee, which participants were told to resist. What researchers found was that following the beep, muscle stiffness increased compared to trials with no beep. Once the startle response subsided though, the stiffness subsided as well, which may indicate a loss of neuromuscular control and in turn could potentially result in injury.
Researchers caution that the sound used for the study may not be comparable to those sounds heard during athletic competitions. It is also difficult to replicate real life experiences in controlled lab environments. Furthermore, the study was done on only 36 individuals, all in their 20s so results may not be applicable to individuals not in this category. And then, there s the question of what to do with the results of this study.
Should results be replicated, what can we do to protect ourselves from injuring our anterior cruciate ligament? Well, make sure to avoid all loud noises. Probably not going to happen considering we re exposed to loud noises every time we walk out our front door, so we ll just take our chances.
ACSH s Dr. Josh Bloom thinks that this study exists somewhere between stupid and useless. He wonders, Why anyone kneed to know this is beyond me, but acknowledges that the study isn t any more stupid than that pun.