Sports Medicine: Women's Sports Injuries

Modern females are increasingly becoming more active participants in sports as compared to yesteryears. Their involvement in sports is a beautiful thing since they make the sporting world better and more interesting for all of us.

Unsurprisingly, determined women train hard and compete at the highest levels. Unfortunately; women in sports suffer some minor and major injuries just like their male counterparts. Today, some of the most common women’s sports injuries are;

Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL)

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are very common with female athletes who participate in various women’s sports such as soccer, volleyball, and basketball among others. The truth is that female athletes are more prone to ACL injuries as compared to male sportspeople. Common causes of anterior cruciate ligament injuries include joint laxity, regular misuse of ankle braces, an abrupt change in direction, cutting movements, concentration lapses, alterations in estrogen levels, wider pelvis, flat-footed landing, and hamstring-quadriceps strength imbalances to name but a few. Better coaching, conditioning and strength training can help reduce ACL injuries.

Stress Fractures

Female athletes are at a greater risk of suffering stress fractures due to various contributing factors such as reduced muscle mass, menstrual irregularities, hormonal influences, and low calcium intake, etc. Unlike females, men tend to have more muscle mass and wider bones in general which help reduce risks of stress fractures. The good news is that risks of stress fractures in female athletes can be reduced through better health and superior nutrition routines and coaching.

The Female Athlete Triad

This is a very common type of sports injury for many female athletes engaging in swimming, ballet, figure skating, gymnastics, long distance running, and diving. This disorder consists of a combination of three dreaded health complications of osteoporosis, amenorrhea and eating disorder. The Female Athlete Triad occurs mainly due to physical and emotional stress, poor nutrition, poor training programs, psychological predisposition, and biological factors. This kind of injury can have devastating repercussions for any female athlete including; lost bone mineral density. The disorder can be treated by eating more healthily, better training, & coaching and use of estrogen/progesterone medicine (if described by a physician).

Knee pain

It is common for female athletes to endure knee pain particularly iliotibial band and patellofemoral pain syndromes. This is mainly due to anatomy and techniques. A nagging knee injury can bring your career to a halt if not properly treated. The disorder is more common in athletes who participate in vigorous women’s sports such as running, hiking, gymnastics and cycling. Prevention is through better training, proper techniques, wearing good sports footwear, and warming up before and after exercising. Treatment is mainly through rehabilitation, medication, and surgeries.

Other common female athletes’ sports injuries include; rotator cuff injuries, Ankle sprains, Shin Splints, and plantar fasciitis. It's tough to be an athlete. Yet, often the rewards can far outweigh the pain.

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