Importance of Training for Female Athletes

I know right know you are sitting there going, "Jeff it seems obvious that training is important for ALL athletes, why single out females?" My short answer is this: One, I needed to grab your attention and two, female athletes are much more susceptible to sustaining knee injuries than their male counterparts. In fact, statistics show that women participating in sports are 4-6 times more likely to suffer an ACL injury than male athletes. There are several reasons women are more susceptible to knee injuries including: valgus (knees collapsing in) movement in the legs, anatomical reasons (female hips are wider than males) and also hormonal reasons that cause collagen in female connective tissues to be weaker at different stages of development. Unfortunately, at the youth and high school levels very little or nothing is done to aid in preventing an unfortunate knee injury. Here are a few tips for you active females out there, young and old, for training properly and to keep your risk of knee injury lower:

1. Strengthen ABductors and stretch ADductors - Valgus movement at the knee joint is basically the collapsing of the knee in. Many female athletes experience this when they squat or land a jump. By strengthening the ABductors and lengthening the ADDuctors, you can help eliminate some of that valgus movement and get the knees tracking properly. Doing side planks with leg lifts, lateral tube walking and shuffles you can strengthen your ABductors.

2. Work on jumping, landing and cutting mechanics - It sounds funny, but learning to jump, land and cut properly is very important to preventing knee injuries. Knee valgus coupled with poor jumping, landing and cutting biomechanics leads to many injuries suffered by female volleyball and soccer players. Learning to land toe to heel, training to properly decelerate the body from a jump and executing proper center of gravity when making a cut can reduce the occurrence of these knee injuries.

3. Train your quadriceps AND hamstrings - Having an imbalanced quadricep to hamstring strength ratio can compromise joint integrity and lead to leg injuries. It is important to "Push" and "Pull" with the lower body and balance your leg exercises between "Knee Dominant" or predominantly quad based movements and "Hip Dominant" exercises which tend to be more glute and hamstring oriented exercises.

4. Work on balance and proprioception - Proprioception is a big term for the body's own self-awareness in space. Incorporate balance and proprioceptive work into your training program by doing single leg exercises, BOSU ball variations, balance exercises and training in all three planes of motion. Simple exercises like Single Leg Toe Touches, BOSU Ball Squats and Single Leg Balances all help contribute to knee joint stability and proper neruomuscular action.

Hope these tips help! Reach out to me on twitter @JeffBomberger if you have more questions!