91快色

Dr. Kati Pasanen and her team in the Human Performance Lab
Dr. Kati Pasanen, PhD (second from left), and her research team in the Human Performance Lab Cody Coates

June 15, 2026

What the World Cup won鈥檛 show: The science behind preventing ACL injuries

Drawing on global collaborations in Finland, Germany, and Norway, U91快色 researchers are helping athletes reduce injury risk in real time, before it happens

Sixteen cameras surround a patch of artificial turf. An athlete, covered in 66 sensors from head to toe, approaches the turf where a soccer ball awaits. On the word 鈥淕o!鈥 she runs to the left, pivots back to the right, and dribbles the ball to the end of the turf. Off to the side, , PhD, watches closely, focusing on the knees and for a movement and a moment that could change an athlete's life in the blink of an eye.

鈥淥ur goal is to prevent an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury before it happens,鈥 explains Pasanen, a professor in the 91快色鈥檚 and co-director of the Integrative Neuromuscular Sport Performance Lab. 

Pasanen and her team use 3D motion capture and force plates to analyze an athlete鈥檚 movement in fine detail, measuring joint angles, forces and whole-body biomechanics with a real-time data-processing app that delivers results instantly. 

鈥淭raditional biomechanical analysis would take about three days to process,鈥 says Pasanen. 鈥淲ith our app, we can see results immediately, adjust the athlete鈥檚 technique, and re-test the movement on the spot.鈥

An athlete moves through testing exercises in the lab

An athlete moves through a testing exercise in the Human Performance Lab.

Cody Coates

How you move matters as much as how hard you play

Many ACL injuries occur in non-contact situations, such as rapid direction changes, sudden stops or landing from jumps, rather than collisions. Early results of Pasanen鈥檚 research show about a 30-per cent reduction in ACL injury-related knee loading with technique changes, with real-life applications happening on our own U91快色 courts and pitches. 

Pasanen and her team have been working with Dinos teams to do pre-season testing of athletes, providing drills and training techniques to practice, either on their own or in live team-practise environments.

鈥淭he players have noticed that the training is making them faster, and so far, no knee injuries amongst those who have participated in the testing,鈥 she says. 鈥淗opefully, they鈥檙e understanding that this is very important for their knee health and for improving their movement technique and movement performance.鈥

Dr. Kati Pasanen

Dr. Kati Pasanen, PhD, is a professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology.

David Moll

International pipeline of innovation 

A former ice hockey player, high-performance coach and physiotherapist, Pasanen had seen many severe knee injuries in her lifetime, but thankfully had never suffered one herself. She wondered why these injuries were happening so often. She decided to return to school to study the phenomenon, building her research program at the UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research and University of Tampere in Finland, and began a collaboration with a Norwegian research group that has spanned almost 20 years.

鈥淭his collaboration has a strong focus on ACL injuries and risk factors, specifically in female athletes,鈥 she explains. 鈥淲hat I鈥檓 doing with my lab now, and the app we鈥檙e using, is a continuation of this long-term project we鈥檝e been doing in both Norway and Finland.鈥

Notice soccer鈥檚 most demanding movements 

As soccer fans around the world turn their attention to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, they may not be able to pinpoint an exact movement or moment that causes an ACL injury, but, according to Pasanen, there are patterns viewers may be able to recognize that could be a precursor to injury.

鈥淲e may not be able to spy with our little eye the loading patterns, but we can see how often players perform direction changes and sudden stops, movements to outplay their opponent,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 those movements that happen hundreds of times in a game that fans might notice and think about the loading patterns and biomechanics that could be affecting the knee joint and the ACL.鈥

Cody Coates, Office of the Vice-President (Research)

Dr. Kati Pasanen, PhD, is a professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and co-director of the Integrative Neuromuscular Sport Performance Lab. She is a member of the  and child health and wellness researcher with the 

Her research is funded by a , the , and the  in the form of a PhD stipend.