Sex Differences in Common Sports-Related Injuries

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 266-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Matzkin ◽  
Kirsten Garvey

Sex plays a role in mediating different susceptibilities and outcomes of disease and injury. Sports injuries are included in this phenomenon, as recent research demonstrates that males and females show differences in incidences of varying injuries, presentations of injury, and treatment outcomes. Incidence of certain sports injuries like anterior cruciate ligament injury or patellofemoral pain syndrome may vary widely between male and female athletes, with female athletes being more susceptible to anterior cruciate ligament injury and patellofemoral pain syndrome. Treatment outcomes for males and females may also vary widely. For example, males have a higher risk of recurrent shoulder instability compared with females. These variances among incidence and outcome following certain injuries highlight the necessity of understanding these differences to provide quality care. It is especially important for the school nurse to be aware of these sex differences as they are well positioned to make youth athletes and their families aware of the varying injury susceptibilities among them.

2005 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 492-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy E. Hewett ◽  
Gregory D. Myer ◽  
Kevin R. Ford ◽  
Robert S. Heidt ◽  
Angelo J. Colosimo ◽  
...  

Background Female athletes participating in high-risk sports suffer anterior cruciate ligament injury at a 4- to 6-fold greater rate than do male athletes. Hypothesis Prescreened female athletes with subsequent anterior cruciate ligament injury will demonstrate decreased neuromuscular control and increased valgus joint loading, predicting anterior cruciate ligament injury risk. Study Design Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2. Methods There were 205 female athletes in the high-risk sports of soccer, basketball, and volleyball prospectively measured for neuromuscular control using 3-dimensional kinematics (joint angles) and joint loads using kinetics (joint moments) during a jump-landing task. Analysis of variance as well as linear and logistic regression were used to isolate predictors of risk in athletes who subsequently ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament. Results Nine athletes had a confirmed anterior cruciate ligament rupture; these 9 had significantly different knee posture and loading compared to the 196 who did not have anterior cruciate ligament rupture. Knee abduction angle (P <. 05) at landing was 8° greater in anterior cruciate ligament-injured than in uninjured athletes. Anterior cruciate ligament-injured athletes had a 2.5 times greater knee abduction moment (P <. 001) and 20% higher ground reaction force (P <. 05), whereas stance time was 16% shorter; hence, increased motion, force, and moments occurred more quickly. Knee abduction moment predicted anterior cruciate ligament injury status with 73% specificity and 78% sensitivity; dynamic valgus measures showed a predictive r2 of 0.88. Conclusion Knee motion and knee loading during a landing task are predictors of anterior cruciate ligament injury risk in female athletes. Clinical Relevance Female athletes with increased dynamic valgus and high abduction loads are at increased risk of anterior cruciate ligament injury. The methods developed may be used to monitor neuromuscular control of the knee joint and may help develop simpler measures of neuromuscular control that can be used to direct female athletes to more effective, targeted interventions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-104
Author(s):  
Mark C. Richardson ◽  
Andrew Wilkinson ◽  
Paul Chesterton ◽  
William Evans

Context: Despite significant emphasis on anterior cruciate ligament injury prevention, injury rates continue to rise and reinjury is common. Interventions to reduce injury have included resistance, balance, and jump training elements. The use of sand-based jump training has been postulated as an effective treatment. However, evidence on landing mechanics is limited. Objective: To determine potential differences in landing strategies and subsequent landing knee valgus when performing single-leg landing (SLL) and drop jump (DJ) tasks onto sand and land, and to compare between both male and female populations. Design: A randomized repeated-measures crossover design. Setting: University laboratory. Participants: Thirty-one participants (20 males and 11 females) from a university population. Interventions: All participants completed DJ and SLL tasks on both sand and land surfaces. Main Outcome Measures: Two-dimensional frontal plane projection angle (FPPA) of knee valgus was measured in both the DJ and SLL tasks (right and left) for both sand and land conditions. Results: FPPA was lower (moderate to large effect) for SLL in sand compared with land in both legs (left: 4.3° [2.8°]; right: 4.1° [3.8°]) for females. However, effects were unclear (left: −0.7° [2.2°]) and trivial for males (right: −1.1° [1.9°]). FPPA differences for males and females performing DJ were unclear; thus, more data is required. Differences in FPPA (land vs sand) with respect to grouping (sex) for both SLL left (4.9° [3.0°]) and right (5.1° [4.0°]) were very likely higher (small)/possibly moderate for females compared with males. Conclusions: The effects of sand on FPPA during DJ tasks in males and females are unclear, and further data is required. However, the moderate to large reductions in FPPA in females during SLL tasks suggest that sand may provide a safer alternative to firm ground for female athletes in anterior cruciate ligament injury prevention and rehabilitation programs, which involve a SLL component.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (03) ◽  
pp. 182-188
Author(s):  
Gabrielle G. Gilmer ◽  
Michael D. Roberts ◽  
Gretchen D. Oliver

AbstractFemale athletes are at an elevated risk for tearing their anterior cruciate ligament, compared to their male counterparts. Though injury screening clinical tests and neuromuscular training programs have been widely implemented, injury rates remain high among female athletes. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between serum relaxin concentrations and knee valgus during three clinical tests (single leg squat, drop vertical jump, and single leg crossover dropdown). Twenty-two female athletes volunteered. Participants were scheduled for collection during the mid-luteal phase, when serum relaxin concentrations are known to be measurable. Blood samples were collected, and serum relaxin concentrations were quantified. Kinematic data were collected while participants performed the three clinical tests. Regression analyses revealed statistically significant relationships between serum relaxin concentrations and knee valgus throughout all tests. These findings suggest that serum relaxin concentrations and knee valgus are not independent of each other and more holistic approaches may be necessary to truly map out the risk for injury and ultimately reduce the rate of anterior cruciate ligament injuries. Thus, concluding that knee valgus, a highly utilized modifiable biomechanical risk factor, and relaxin, a hormone that has been associated with anterior cruciate ligament injury in female athletes, are related to each other.


Women in sport – an almost inexhaustible topic that has been neglected for a long time. Female Athletes conquer discipline after discipline – including the associated injuries. Common sports injuries in female athletes include stress fractures, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries and sport related concussions (SRC). Less commonly recognized are the specific sex differences that lead to these injuries. An understanding of these factors can improve their clinical management including surgical treatment, the rehabilitation phase and return to play.


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