subject: What You Need To Know About Women's Sports Medicine [print this page] What You Need To Know About Women's Sports Medicine
In the past few years, women's sports have come a long way for girls to take part in almost all the same activities as boys. However, now the need for knowledge about sports medicine and the prevention of injuries and health conditions. We will explore some of the specific issues that are only found in women's sports medicine.
Many women who are active in sports often sustain common knee injuries as a result of activity. Women suffer most often with injuries to the ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) when playing on school teams, going to the gym or otherwise exercising. This type of injury is ten times more likely in women than in men although health experts aren't necessarily sure why, so it is crucial for you to be aware of this as a vulnerability. 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. If you have a knee injury an continue to play or work out before you know what the problem is it can cause even more damage to the knee. You should always follow the advice or your coach, doctor or trainer when learning how best to move in order to reduce your chances of a knee related injury.
Your body needs you to eat enough to provide nutrients that are essential to good health, some girls and women alike develop a problem with their body image that causes them to work too hard and deprives the body of these essential nutrients. In extreme cases, this leads to eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia, where there's an obsession to lose weight to the point that the person starves herself. A few of the sports where participants are encouraged to be thin including figure skating and gymnastics often find participants prone to these conditions. There are health risks associated with being too thin, just as there are with being too fat, especially for those who are extremely active, it can be dangerous. For the most part this is a psychological issue although it does have some pretty sever medical consequences.
Until recently, pregnant women were advised to limit their exercise or physical activity as much as they could. Today, however, it's a proven fact that daily exercise during pregnancy is beneficial to pregnant women and often leads to healthier babies being delivered compared with sedentary pregnancies. For example, one study showed that women who exercised during pregnancy were able to reduce the time they spend in labor by 1/3. It's imperative that you seek the counsel of your physician to find out which exercise is safe for you during pregnancy. You do need to keep some things in mind, such as not overstraining, making sure to drink plenty of water and avoiding any exercise that might strain the abdominal area. Women's sports medicine issues, as we've seen in this article, cover a variety of conditions. When you have an awareness of the issues preventing them can be made easier. Good medical advice is key to getting you back on track once something does occur. Don't push yourself too hard, your body needs time to heal in most cases which means taking it a bit easier when you do have an injury.
