The below program, created by Sanford Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, is just one of many injury prevention programs that have been developed through evidence based research. Noncontact knee injuries have become a large problem in sports that require cutting, jumping, and sudden change in direction. Research has shown that females are anywhere from two to eight times more likely to sustain a serious injury to their ACL. For both males and females, implementing an injury prevention program that focuses on strength, plyometrics, agility, balance, flexibility, and feedback can significantly reduce the chance of a noncontact knee injury from occuring. While most of the research has centered around these programs as they relate to injuries of the knee, it is widely agreed upon that they can help reduce the occurrence of injuries to other areas of the body as well. The Sanford Program contains a handful of movements that instruct the athlete to use a resistance band, but the exercises can be performed without one as well.