MUHC develops app to predict and prevent ACL injuries

Specialists at the MUHC have developed a smartphone app, Hurtblocker, to predict whether users are at risk of ACL injury.

A torn ACL is one of the most common sports injuries.

“If you have that injury, you’re out of your sports for a rehab that’s a year long,” said McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Paul Martineau.

That’s why specialists at the MUHC have developed the smartphone app Hurtblocker. The free app predicts whether users are at risk of experiencing what can be a devastating injury.

Martineau, who is also director of sports medicine research, has performed more than 2,000 ACL surgeries in his 18 years at the MUHC. He says injuries often appear starting around age 12.

“It’s become an epidemic where women are injuring themselves seven times more than men. And the age of the athletes is getting younger and younger. You can see that at all levels of play,” he adds.

The app is user-friendly. Users start by taking a video of themselves jumping on each leg. The app uses artificial intelligence to analyze knee movement and stability as they land. It then determines if they might be predisposed to an ACL injury.

“It will process that data and come out with a ‘you jump in a way that’s risky for your ACL.’ And if you need help or if you’re a ‘red light,’ like we call them in the app, there are exercises you can do that decrease your risk of injury by 50 per cent. It’s huge,” Martineau says.

The recommended exercises are known as neuromuscular training programs. The combination of moves, such as jogging and jumps, helps improve agility, strength, and balance.

Martineau says the app has already reached 4,000 downloads in two months.

“What we were trying to do was put physiotherapists, a doctor, in your pocket—so that parents, coaches, athletes could just test themselves at home,” he explains.

According to Martineau, 12 universities and several professional teams will soon be using the app, and he hopes even more will jump on board.