Sports Injuries-Ladies

[PHargis]

Every year there is a number of sports injuries in ladies basketball and for some reason when they start a number exist to the same team. I have thought for some time, that there is some consistancy based on how conditioning is done, i.e., speed in which it is done, over exercion, not warming up properly, not being consistant in warmups throughout ones career, etc. it might be interesting if there are trainers on this board, for some input be given on how the best way is to avoid injuries, knees, ankles. Every year , a great deal of time is lost just on the injury situation. I have just read that one team has lost 5 players to season ending injuries. Trainers, how do you cut down on injuries.

[One Grizzly Fan]

I saw Ut Lady vols practice and they spent the first 10 Mintunes of practice to streching. I do not know how much High school teams devote to streching but I would bet that most High school team do not devote that much time to streaching.

[aj1133]

Our team has a very extensive pre-practice warm-up. We spend between 25 and 30 minutes with stretching and plyos, a mixture of what the Lady Vols and the men's team at UT did while Buzz was there. I think this is a very beneficial preventetive measure. Personally, I believe that weight traing has something to do with it. It is common knowledge that the female body is more susceptible to injury but working out on a good program regularly could go a long way towards maintaining good health. We have had 4 knee injuries in the last 4 years and 3 of the 4 were athletes who also played volleyball. The volleyball coach would not allow her athletes to weight train during the season and I feel sure that if they had been working out these problems would have been less likely to happen. The muscles around the knee help support those ligaments and without conditioning the muscles may not provide the type of support needed to compete at a high level. There is no scientific evidence to support my theory at this time and this idea is purely speculative but obviously I feel this makes a great deal of sense.

Edited November 15, 2005 by aj1133

[banjodr]

Okay you asked for it! Stay with me... Women as you all know have an abundance of different hormonal activity depending on the situation. i.e. menstral, puberty, pregnancy ect. Different things trigger these activities. Having said that (we won't even go into the PMS PMS or DMS) there are factors that we now know that really exist on a team or in a group of females in close contact for long periods of time. Basketball is a good example.

Not being vulger or anything but the tendancy for most (not all) of females to be at or close to the same schedule in terms of their cycle is very common. Now during menstration, there is a period in time when the body thinks it is pregnant even when it is not. There are certain hormones that help soften bones to make it easier for the birth process (pelvic ect.). These also unfortunately for the athlete make all bones a bit more flexible.

At different levels of fatigue, the bones are even more flexible. So having said all that.. During certain times for ladies, at given levels of fatigue and exaustion, it is easier to roll an ankle... flex a knee.. you get the picture and even "coincidental occurances for multiple players.

Studies at UNC indicated from a 2 year period of knee injuries that most occured when the athlete was most fatigued either in practice or game. They suggested frequent hydration and implementing brace wear (if not already) during those times (menstration) when chances were greater. Actually the 2-3 day period prior to menstration (same hormones associated with mood swings ect). Also if possible and the situation allowed itself.. do conditioning and agility drills early in practice and allow breaks. Then the suggestion was to implement a controlled scrimmage situation if it was known that certain players were at a bit more risk which would mean a system of colored wristband or verbally telling a manager or coach who then would know what and what not to do. Of course, a coach would probably not want a player going slower or "controlled" so the main thing was to condition early and hydrated then do game prep last.

There would be definite bugs to work out from a coaching standpoint and the study didn't address these at all. Hope this may shed a small bit of light as to why it may seem weird as to the timing of the injuries.

[PHargis]

Every year there is a number of sports injuries in ladies basketball and for some reason when they start a number exist to the same team. I have thought for some time, that there is some consistancy based on how conditioning is done, i.e., speed in which it is done, over exercion, not warming up properly, not being consistant in warmups throughout ones career, etc. it might be interesting if there are trainers on this board, for some input be given on how the best way is to avoid injuries, knees, ankles. Every year , a great deal of time is lost just on the injury situation. I have just read that one team has lost 5 players to season ending injuries. Trainers, how do you cut down on injuries.

These are outstanding posts so far. In addition to these posts, for those who are interested, please post if you consider this a problem today, if there is vehicle to provide high schools and middle schools studies to keep injuries down in a high growth area such as ladies sports.

[PHargis]

Every year there is a number of sports injuries in ladies basketball and for some reason when they start a number exist to the same team. I have thought for some time, that there is some consistancy based on how conditioning is done, i.e., speed in which it is done, over exercion, not warming up properly, not being consistant in warmups throughout ones career, etc. it might be interesting if there are trainers on this board, for some input be given on how the best way is to avoid injuries, knees, ankles. Every year , a great deal of time is lost just on the injury situation. I have just read that one team has lost 5 players to season ending injuries. Trainers, how do you cut down on injuries.

In additon to this thread, there is one going on on this site concerning "ankle braces or no ankle braces". I would suggest you read the many posts on that thread.

[sofine]

Well, I gave my 2 cents worth on the Ankle Brace issue, so I'm going to give my 2 cents worth on this topic as well.

 

banjodr brought up some good points in regards to hormones playing a factor when females get injured. There are also some anatomical differences in women as compared to men that seem to contribute to knee injuries.

 

Try to follow me here.........Women have a wider pelvis (hips) than men. This is to allow for child birth later in life. As a result of the wider pelvis, women tend to use more of the muscles located on the outside of the thigh. In return, this leads to a weakening of the inner thigh muscles. The inner thigh muscles are responsible for keeping the knee-cap inline with the thigh during movement. Since these inner thigh muscles are weaker, the females knee-cap moves irregularly, leading to a greater incidence of knee pain. Not neccesarily a knee injury, but just knee pain in general.

 

Also, due to these differences in men and women, some researchers think that this may have an affect on ACL injuries. Their reasoning is that since the inner thigh muscles are weaker, they are not able to provide the strength and stability to the knee when it should get in a position where an injury could occur.

 

A couple of years ago, there was a study comparing male and female athletes in regards to injury rates.....specifically, the ACL. The biggest things that I thought were interesting......

 

1) When males are running and need to change direction quickly, they usually slow down in 3-4 steps, before changing direction. This gradual decrease in speed lessens the forces on the knee and allows for a smoother change in momentum towards a different direction.

 

Whereas females tend to stop in 1-2 steps and change direction immediately. This places HUGE loads on the knee, which as discussed previously, is already at a distinct muscular disadvantage.

 

2) When males jump and land, males tend to bend their knees more and use their hips as the main "shock absorber". This helps them "reload" and be prepared to make another quick jump.

 

Females, upon landing, keep their knees and hips rigid. As a result - all of the forces are transferred to the knee. Also, they are not as prepared to make another quick jump if needed (such as in basketball & volleyball).

 

 

Since 2000, I have worked with three different High Schools and at all three, I have implemented a plyometric / jump-training program for the volleyball and girls basketball programs (soccer was doing their own thing). And during that time, there have only been two girls that tore their ACL and missed the season. And both of those girls did not take part in this program. Of course we had our share of typical "boo-boos" and other nagging injuries, but nothing so serious that they missed more than one game.

 

If you want more info on the program that I have followed, here is a link:

 

http://www.cincinnatisportsmed.com/sportsmetrics.htm

 

 

Sorry for such a long post. I got into my profession to help injured athletes and if my opinions can help at least one person, then I guess I have done my job.

[Mr. Polesit]

Okay you asked for it! Stay with me... Women as you all know have an abundance of different hormonal activity depending on the situation. i.e. menstral, puberty, pregnancy ect. Different things trigger these activities. Having said that (we won't even go into the PMS PMS or DMS) there are factors that we now know that really exist on a team or in a group of females in close contact for long periods of time. Basketball is a good example.

Not being vulger or anything but the tendancy for most (not all) of females to be at or close to the same schedule in terms of their cycle is very common. Now during menstration, there is a period in time when the body thinks it is pregnant even when it is not. There are certain hormones that help soften bones to make it easier for the birth process (pelvic ect.). These also unfortunately for the athlete make all bones a bit more flexible.

At different levels of fatigue, the bones are even more flexible. So having said all that.. During certain times for ladies, at given levels of fatigue and exaustion, it is easier to roll an ankle... flex a knee.. you get the picture and even "coincidental occurances for multiple players.

Studies at UNC indicated from a 2 year period of knee injuries that most occured when the athlete was most fatigued either in practice or game. They suggested frequent hydration and implementing brace wear (if not already) during those times (menstration) when chances were greater. Actually the 2-3 day period prior to menstration (same hormones associated with mood swings ect). Also if possible and the situation allowed itself.. do conditioning and agility drills early in practice and allow breaks. Then the suggestion was to implement a controlled scrimmage situation if it was known that certain players were at a bit more risk which would mean a system of colored wristband or verbally telling a manager or coach who then would know what and what not to do. Of course, a coach would probably not want a player going slower or "controlled" so the main thing was to condition early and hydrated then do game prep last.

There would be definite bugs to work out from a coaching standpoint and the study didn't address these at all. Hope this may shed a small bit of light as to why it may seem weird as to the timing of the injuries.

 

I've heard countless studies done by top college/professional athletic trainers, PT's, and orthos and none of them (that I have heard) lean towards mentral periods being a factor causing injury. Q angel(measurement of femur related to tibia depending on width of hips) and ACL notch are believed to be the primary factors leading to ACL injury.. Womens hips are widder due to child birthing thus increasing Q angle. Women also have a smaller grove for the ACL to travel thru, noticably smaller than men. I also believe that weak quads are a primary injury factor if not the leading injury causing factor to ACL injuries. Plain and simple, girls do not do enough plyo's and quad strengthening.

[sofine]

Polesit.....I agree that there is not enough evidence out there to provide substantial proof in regards to hormones, menstrual cycles, etc., but I think that it is something that may need further review. Both of the girls that I mentioned in my previous post were menstruating at the time of their injury. Coincidence???? I don't know.....too small of a number to conduct a study.

 

Definitely agree with the Q angle and Femoral tunnel. Not to mention the shearing forces with a more narrow tunnel. I also agree that Quad / Hamstring strength ratio lends a big factor as well. I thought about mentioning that in my previous post, but I felt I had babbled on too long and needed to shut-up.

 

Good post

[Mr. Polesit]

Polesit.....I agree that there is not enough evidence out there to provide substantial proof in regards to hormones, menstrual cycles, etc., but I think that it is something that may need further review. Both of the girls that I mentioned in my previous post were menstruating at the time of their injury. Coincidence???? I don't know.....too small of a number to conduct a study.

 

Definitely agree with the Q angle and Femoral tunnel. Not to mention the shearing forces with a more narrow tunnel. I also agree that Quad / Hamstring strength ratio lends a big factor as well. I thought about mentioning that in my previous post, but I felt I had babbled on too long and needed to shut-up.

 

Good post

 

Sofine, your posts are excellent. You sound like you know your stuff. Doing good things for the profession. Keep up the good work......

[PHargis]

Sofine, your posts are excellent. You sound like you know your stuff. Doing good things for the profession. Keep up the good work......

Really some good posts. Know there are some others that have opinions or confirmation what has been posted. need some coaches that have had some experience.

[banjodr]

I've heard countless studies done by top college/professional athletic trainers, PT's, and orthos and none of them (that I have heard) lean towards mentral periods being a factor causing injury. Q angel(measurement of femur related to tibia depending on width of hips) and ACL notch are believed to be the primary factors leading to ACL injury.. Womens hips are widder due to child birthing thus increasing Q angle. Women also have a smaller grove for the ACL to travel thru, noticably smaller than men. I also believe that weak quads are a primary injury factor if not the leading injury causing factor to ACL injuries. Plain and simple, girls do not do enough plyo's and quad strengthening.

University of North Carolina (I'll go back and see if I can find it). I never said the study blamed menstration... only levels of hormones at time (primarily before menstration) soften larger bones making them slightly more elastic and therefore less supportive of the surrounding softer tissue (i.e. ligaments and tendons) therefore (in theory) allowing stretch or strain. But also the muscle fatigue factor in weaking support from the musculoskeletal angle. Sorry for the confusion

Edited November 16, 2005 by banjodr