Injuries to Female Athletes and Practical Considerations

Over the last 20 years concern for athlete safety has increased as more females have become involved in sports. Females are statistically 4 times more likely to sustain a serious ACL knee injury compared to males. These injuries are most frequent in high risk sports that require jumping and cutting (i.e. Soccer or Basketball). Another interesting trend is that female athletes are most often injured in a supervised setting (64% of injuries) compared to males who are most often injured in an unsupervised setting (55%). This information prompts us to consider whether our traditionally male dominated training methods are appropriate for female athletes.

Practical Considerations

If women and men are so distinctly different, should they in fact be trained with these differences in mind? The research shows us that women are at a greater risk to sustain a significant knee injury. Are these injuries a result of training women too much like we train men or are they the result of training that does not consider the distinct needs of female athletes? Regardless of the cause, the fact is that female athletes need specific training to improve physical weaknesses. In future postings we will present some aspects of training that should be modified for female athletes.

The Twist Team!