Best Strength

First off I would like to congratulate the Northwestern Women’s Lacrosse Team on winning their fourth straight national championship. This is truly an amazing accomplishment.

On a more serious note however I would like to discuss the issue of sports related injuries amongst women athletes, specifically girls. A recent New York Times article discusses the problem with ACL injuries in an increasing number of young women.

The article states the following regarding the differences amongst boys and girls in sports.

“Girls, as their estrogen levels increase, tend to add fat rather than muscle. They must train rigorously to get significantly stronger. This causes an injury risk when not accompanied by sufficient muscle to keep joints in stable, safe positions. Girls tend to run differently than boys — in a less-flexed, more-upright posture — which may put them at greater risk when changing directions and landing from jumps. Because of their wider hips, they are more likely to be knock-kneed — yet another suspected risk factor”

However, the article fails to state that there is always a difference in the knee joint between men and women. I know this because I dislocated my knee playing basketball. It was found on an MRI that my own knee is shaped more like that of a women. There is a lot less room for my knee joint and this can cause it to dislocate. Therefore women have additional problems with knee dislocations.

I know a girl on the Northwestern Field Hockey team. She at the age of 22 already has problems with arthritis in her knees. She told me she went running for the first time in over 6 months yesterday on Memorial Day because the weather was so nice (80 degrees farenheit and sunny).

The Bottom Line

Injuries affect the knee joint and surrounding ligaments are very damaging for athletes and quality of life. Athletes, like myself, get a lot of enjoyment and pleasure out of being able to perform a top and healthy physical level. Injuries affect the knee and surrounding ligaments never fully heal and recover. This causes problems for the rest of life. If you are hardly in your twenties and are suffering with injuries of this nature it is going to be really hard to deal with.

Therefore, I would really pay attention to the way you play sports. If you tend to go all out you may suffer a damaging injury at a young age in high school or college. I would recommend that if you can, do not specialize in any one sport and give your body time to rest. Also remember to drink plenty of water. For those of you who are planning to focus on only one sport, I commend you, but be aware of the injuries that can occur and take steps to prevent them.