An industry collaboration between UNE and PLC Armidale that is investigating how to prevent ACL injuries in young female athletes has hit a major milestone, with a trial now underway to test whether targeted resistance training can influence ACL structure and resilience during adolescence.
If successful, the findings will impact youth female athletes in a range of high-risk sports, including football, netball, basketball and rugby, and will help coaches, physiotherapists and sporting organisations design safer training programs.
“Historically, sports science research has been heavily based on adult male athletes, yet training guidelines are often applied broadly across all populations,” said UNE National Industry PhD (NIPhD) candidate and RTP Scholarship recipient, Oskar Staniucha, who is leading the research.
“Female athletes, particularly during adolescence, experience unique biological changes that influence performance and injury risk.
"If we want to improve participation, performance, and long-term health outcomes, we need research specifically focused on them.”
Across the project, the research team will use MRI imaging, strength testing, movement analysis and a 20-week structured training intervention to see whether targeted resistance training can have a positive impact.
Currently, we know female athletes are significantly more likely to suffer ACL injuries than males, especially during puberty, however, we don’t fully understand why this risk increases at that stage of development.
“Currently, we know female athletes are significantly more likely to suffer ACL injuries than males, especially during puberty, however, we don’t fully understand why this risk increases at that stage of development,” said Oskar.
“Most prevention programs focus on movement patterns, but the ligament itself may also be changing during maturation. If the tissue is temporarily weaker or adapting at a different rate than the athlete’s strength and performance, that could explain why injuries occur even in well-trained athletes.”
Image: Oskar with a PLC student conducting one of the strength interventions.
Oskar’s research is supported through the highly competitive NIPhD Program, recognising the strength of the project and its potential for real-world impact.
The program brings university research and external partners together in structured, industry-linked PhD projects, reflecting UNE’s recently launched strategy that is centred around deep regional partnerships and research with direct community benefit.
Oskar says the opportunity to work directly with PLC to put the theory into practice is a major strength of the project.
“The school provides the applied sporting environment where the research takes place, including participant involvement, training implementation, and integration within real school sport programs,” he said.
“Rather than a laboratory-only study, this allows us to test the intervention in a genuine sporting setting, which greatly improves the real-world relevance of the findings.”
PLC Armidale Principal Mrs Nicola Taylor said the collaboration reflects the College’s commitment to empowering young women of character to lead lives of significance.
This partnership with UNE ensures our students are benefiting from research specifically focused on young women — an area historically underrepresented in sports science. It also gives our girls the opportunity to contribute to work that could improve safety and participation for female athletes well beyond our campus.
“As an all-girls school, we recognise the unique physical and developmental factors that influence injury risk for adolescent female athletes,” Mrs Taylor said.
“This partnership with UNE ensures our students are benefiting from research specifically focused on young women — an area historically underrepresented in sports science. It also gives our girls the opportunity to contribute to work that could improve safety and participation for female athletes well beyond our campus.
“At PLC Armidale, developing confident, capable young women extends from the classroom to the sporting field. Being part of research with real-world impact aligns strongly with our commitment to excellence and meaningful contribution.”
Early phase testing is now underway, with MRI scanning, performance testing and training intervention to kick off in the coming weeks and months. Findings are expected late-2027.
Read more about the NIPhD program here.
This research was supported by the Commonwealth through an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship.
