Tears to the ACL are known to be more common in women than men, with previous research suggesting fluctuations in hormones during the menstrual cycle, including oestrogen, might play a role by increasing the looseness of the ACL and making it more injury prone.

But some research has suggested hormonal contraceptives might mitigate such an effect – and now researchers say they have added to that evidence.

• Read more here
• Read journal paper (open access) Oral contraceptives provide protection against anterior cruciate ligament tears: a national database study of 165,748 female patients