Holly B. is an active professional in her late twenties who spends her free time playing recreational flag football and league basketball. She shares her experience with us as she explores the world of sports.

It wasn't until I started playing flag football that I realized how much strain the knee undergoes. I grew up playing high school basketball, and I know how risky that sport can be for the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament). But when I started football, I figured, "Hey, it's flag football, at most I'll just get a couple of bruises or scrapes."

I had no idea it would result in knee surgery and a one-year recovery.

I've witnessed a few injuries during flag football, and surprisingly enough, many of them were non-contact. One of my teammates simply made a sharp turn during a drill at practice, and suddenly went down to the ground in pain. No one was even near her!

My own injury had some contact... but not much. All I did was block a girl to create a lane behind me for our receiver. I didn't step wrong, or do anything out of the ordinary. The simple impact of her body against mine tore my ACL from my thigh bone, tore my meniscus, and fractured my shin bone. (Sorry if that's a bit graphic... it's what happened!)

I can imagine how much more intense it is during regular football instead of flag. That's why I've started encouraging my teammates and other football players to wear protective knee braces for football.

It's well worth it to make sure you have as much protection as possible when playing a contact sport like football. Check out the knee braces that you can wear during football.