The Most Common Injuries In Sports For Women
Sport and exercise are at the core of keeping healthy, but they come with associated risks. Our bodies aren’t made of iron, and repeated wear can take its toll on muscles and joints. One off injuries can also come back to haunt us, and need careful management.
Female footballer’s need strength and cardio fitness in order to be able to perform, and therefore their whole bodies are at risk of injury. The most common areas are: the head, from repeated collisions with the ball and other players, the knee, from running and kicking, the ankle, from turning, pushing off, and kicking the ball and the foot. For footballers, the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) is vulnerable, as it can be torn by turning suddenly, or by falling.
Runners have to take care of their joints, but the constant jarring caused by the motion of running can also cause something called a shin split, which is where the sheath around the tibia (called the periostium) gets inflamed. You can avoid this happening by running in good quality shoes that support your foot. Running on hard surfaces can also cause this, although many runners find that softer surfaces are hard to come by, unless you can run in a park or in the countryside. This is a wear and tear injury which develops over time, so pay attention to your body. If something hurts, it’s your body sending you an important message.
No surprises then, that another area that is vulnerable for runners is the knee, which when running has to absorb several times the athlete’s body weight. The Iliotibial Band (IT band) runs from the hip down to the knee on the outside of the thigh – if you run too far or too fast too soon, the IT band can start to rub on the bone, the femur, and cause a lot of discomfort. There is nothing to be gained by upping exercise too quickly.
Weight lifters, beware of poor posture – if you’re going to lift weights, lift them properly. Poor posture and lifting too much prior to correct muscle development can cause something called Shoulder Impingement, where the tendons in the shoulder become irritated due to not having space to move properly. The lower back is also vulnerable, and injuries here are usually caused by poor posture or carrying out movement incorrectly. Lumbar disc prolapse is when the shock absorbers in your back, called intervertebral discs, become damaged and compress the surrounding nerves.
Don’t be put off exercising by this ladies – weight training, running, and cross training sports are all great forms of exercise, which can help you achieve prolonged health and fitness. Always find out how to complete exercises properly, never try and work through pain and take efforts to prevent sports injuries.
