Female Athletes and Knee Injuries

As a coach, my primary goal is to keep my athletes safe and injury free. However, sports injuries do occur and there is growing research and awareness on female athletes and knee injuries. Some link the number of knee injuries in female athletes to genetics and the difference in bone structure to their counterparts. Others indicate the pressure to start training at a younger age as the cause. Either way, many of the injuries can be prevented through proper training and awareness.

The following are some very good resources for learning more about girls, sports and knee injuries:

• Female athletes and ACL injuries – are they preventable?
• NCAA interactive site just for ACL injury education
• Girls can jump
• Study on the rate of knee injuries in boys and girls
• Highbeam research has links to quite a few articles on the topic of girls and knee injuries
• Girls make comeback from ACL injuries but at what price?
• Warrior girls
• Preventing ACL injuries in girls

And for those girls (like my daughter) who are aspiring surgeons or just want to know more about the way their sports body works, check out Edheads.org to perform a virtual knee surgery and learn more about knee injuries in general.

I have found an excellent source for pediatric braces and rehabilitation products called the Brace Shop.