As more women participate in sports and exercise, there’s a greater need to understand women’s sports medicine issues. The information below will help you understand some of the issues you need to understand as a women participating in these activities in order to keep yourself from injury.
A common issue for women in sports is knee related injury. From girls playing on their school teams, to adult women going to the gym, women often suffer from ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injuries. Because this vulnerability is more likely to occur in women than in men it’s critical that you understand that it can happen to you although even the experts don’t quite know why this is true. If you are having knee pain of any type it’s important to have it checked out by a sports medicine specialist before you resume exercise to be sure that there isn’t anything serious going on. When there is a potential problem with your knees it’s important to realize that continuing to play or workout can cause more damage over time. It’s also important to follow your doctors, coaches or trainers advice on how to move in order to reduce the risk of knee injuries.
The loss of bone mass is an issue most women face as they near middle age. This condition causes many women to be prone to osteoporosis, broken bones and other injuries related to bones.
When it comes to conditions like these the best approach is prevention which can be accomplished with regular exercise and a healthy diet. The health of your bones depends on your body getting enough essential nutrients like Vitamin D, iron and calcium in addition to some strength training. You can gauge the health of your bones with a simple bone density test.
One issue some women have is that when they exercise vigorously, they stop having periods. This condition occurs most often when the body is not obtaining adequate nutrition, your doctor may refer to it as amenorrhea. This condition can cause lower bone density and a higher rate of injury although many athletes believe it to be normal and not worthy of concern. Talk to your doctor if this happens to you and also consider decreasing the intensity of your training regimen. Your activity plays a big role here, meaning if you are extremely active in sports or exercise you might end up with it but if you only make regular trips to the gym for activity it’s not likely to become a problem for you.
Where exercise and sports play are concerned there is now a vast knowledge base regarding women’s sports medicine that can help keep you safe and healthy. There can be other issues than those we’ve discussed here that are unique to the individual body or the activities you do but we’ve covered a few important concerns here in this article. Finding a good specialist who knows a lot about women’s sports medicine is important for the above reasons.