Women are 2 to 9 times more likely to experience an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury than men. Various hormones including relaxin, progesterone, and estrogen influence ACL strength. Oral contraceptives (OCs) alter these hormone levels; however, studies have yet to comprehensively compare different OCs’ effects on the ACL.

In conclusion, OC formulations with higher progestin-to-estrogen ratios may be more protective for the ACL than formulations with lower ratios.

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Five articles from the January 2020 issue summarized in five minutes, with the addition of a brief editorial commentary. The 5-in-5 feature is designed to give readers an overview of articles that may pique their interest and encourage more detailed reading. It may also be used by busy readers who would prefer a brief audio summary in order to select the articles they want to read in full.

The featured articles for this month are, "Peripheral-Track and Central-Track Hill-Sachs Lesions: A New Concept of Assessing an On-Track Lesion", "Outcomes of Quadriceps Tendon With Patellar Bone Block Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction in Adolescent Patients With a Minimum 2-Year Follow-up", "Graft Size and Orientation Within the Femoral Notch Affect Graft Healing at 1 Year After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction", "Comparing Outcomes of Competitive Athletes Versus Nonathletes Undergoing Hip Arthroscopy for Treatment of Femoroacetabular Impingement Syndrome", and "High Prevalence of Connective Tissue Gene Variants in Professional Ballet".

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