Knee Injuries and Female School Athletes - Essay Example

Knee injuries and female school athletes Knee Injuries and Female School Athletes Knee injury is a major problem facing by athletes all over the world irrespective of gender differences. However, the nature and the complexity of the knee injury suffered by male and female athletes are slightly different because of the differences in kinematics associated with the gender differences. During ambulation, squatting and landing, knees of the male and female athletes function in a slightly different manner. Ambulation refers to the simple walking whereas squatting refers to the complex full body exercise that trains primarily the muscles of lower body, including the knees, thighs, hips and buttocks. Landing on the other hand refers to the process of touching the land when some kind of jumping sports items. In short, the impact of ambulation, squatting and landing caused on the knee of male and female athletes is slightly different. As a result of that, the knee injuries suffered by the male and female athletes are slightly different. “Knee injury among young, active female patients remains a public health issue” (Winterstein et al., 2013, p.523). However, the management of knee injuries among female athletes is still poor because of the lack of knowledge possessed by clinicians about it. It is illogical to treat the knee injuries of male and female athletes in a similar manner since the nature of these injuries is different. The doctor should have proper knowledge about the kinematics of male and female knees before prescribing a treatment plan. This study is significant since many of the female school athletes forced to stop their training and sports career midway through their career because of knee injuries. This study will help female athletes and physicians to know more about the kinematics of female knees and the nature of the knee injuries suffered by the female athletes so that proper treatment can be planned for a speedy recovery. Joseph et al. (2014, p.361) conducted a study to investigate the effect of a medial post on amount and timing of lower extremity motions during a single-leg squat in male and female athletes. The major hypothesize formulated in this study was that there would be differences in single-leg squat kinematic variables depending upon sex and post conditions. Their study samples included twenty male and female athletes who were asked to perform single-leg squats with and without a five degree full-length medial post. They have analysed the maximum joint angles with the help of a two-way, repeated-measures analysis of variance to know more about the influence of gender differences upon lower body while performing single-leg squats. They found that there were significant differences between men and women at the hip, knee and ankle in maximum motion values and the time at which they occurred. They concluded that women exhibit greater frontal plane motion during single leg squatting. Brumitt,et al. (2013) also conducted a study similar to the one conducted by Joseph et al. The purpose of this study was to assess an athlete’s fitness or readiness to return to sport after an injury. They used standing long jump (SLJ) test, the single-leg hop (SLH) for distance test, and the lower extremity functional test (LEFT) as screening tools to identify collegiate athletes who may be at increased risk for a time-loss sports-related low back or lower extremity injury. They have selected a total of 193 Division III athletes from 15 university teams. Out of these 193 athletes, 110 were females in the age group of 19.1 ± 1.1 y and 83 were males in the age group of 19.5 ± 1.3 y. The tests were conducted in the following sequence: SLJ, SLH, and LEFT. The results showed that female athletes who completed the LEFT in 118 s were 6 times more likely to sustain knee injury whereas male athletes who completed the LEFT in 100 s were more likely to experience a low back injury. It is evident from the above studies that the nature of the injuries suffered by male and female athletes is different even if they are performing the same task. The nature of the knee injury is heavily dependent frontal plane motion. Since greater frontal plane motion occurs on the knees of the female athletes during squatting, compared to that occur to male athletes, it is possible that the female athletes suffer more complex knee injuries than male athletes even though both are performing the same sports activity. The movement of the frontal plane of the knees of males and females are different. Among females, it moves much rapidly and hence the possibility of knee injury is more. On the other hand, the frontal plane of the knees of the males is much stronger than that of the females. As a result of that males suffer less movement as well as injury on knees compared to females while performing complex sports activities. At the same time, the study conducted by Roach et al (2014) has yielded slightly different result compared to the results obtained in the studies of Brumitt et al. and Joseph et al. They conducted a descriptive epidemiological as well as a longitudinal cohort study in United States to learn more about the medial collateral ligament (MCL) knee sprain among athletic populations. This study was conducted in a Military Academy (USMA) between 2005 and 2009. They have witnessed around 128 knee injuries during this period. Out of these 128 injuries, 114 were in male athletes (89%) and only 14 were in female athletes (11%). They concluded that medial collateral ligament injuries are common in athletic cohorts and male athletes are at a greater risk than female athletes. It should be noted that the major sports activities performed by the male athletes in Military Academy (USMA) were wrestling, hockey, judo, and rugby. Female athletes are less interested in these activities compared to the male athletes. That is why the results obtained by Roach et al are different from the results obtained by other researchers. Females are mostly interested in athletic items such as walking, running, jumping and throwing since these activities require less physical efforts compared to wrestling, hockey, judo, or rugby. The study conducted by Peers et al. (2014) to assess early articular cartilage changes in knees of female collegiate athletes has supported the above arguments. They have conducted this study during 2008 to July 2009, taking 21 NCAA Division I athletes, 11 impact (basketball players) and 10 nonimpact (swimmers) as participants. They have examined the early articular cartilage changes in knees of the athletes using magnetic resonance imaging technology. Results showed that the average relaxation times (ART) of radial zone of central third weight-bearing region of cartilage in basketball players was significantly greater than swimmers and ART of the superficial zone in basketball players was significantly less than that of swimmers. Winterstein et al. (2013) conducted a comprehensive study to know more about the knee injuries suffered by female athletes. They have used methods such as Single Assessment Numerical Evaluation (SANE) and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) to know more about this problem. They used observational methods to collect data. During their study period, they have observed 263 subjects and at pre injury, time of injury and post injury stages. After the analysis of the results, they concluded that SANE scores associated strongly with the IKDC scores at all stages such as pre injury, time of injury and post injury. Single Assessment Numerical Evaluation (SANE) is definitely an excellent method to study more about the knee injuries among females. The chances of knee injury among female athletes are 3 to 4 times more than that among male athletes. Therefore, it is necessary to give more attention towards female athletes who are performing complex sports activities. Clinicians should monitor the knee areas of females before and after the performance of the sports activity in order to conclude whether the athlete suffered an injury or not at the knee area because of the sports activity. Single Assessment Numerical Evaluation (SANE) helps them immensely in this regard. To conclude, female athletes are more vulnerable to knee injuries than male athletes when they perform similar sports activities. The movement of the knee portion among females is more than that among males while performing similar activities. More movement means more vulnerable to injuries. Therefore, it is necessary to give special attention to the knee areas of female athletes after the performance of any sports activity by them. It is necessary to monitor their knees before, during and after the performance of the activity to get more insights about the injury suffered by them. At present, many of the clinicians who are taking care of the athletes are less aware of the differences in knee injury suffered by the athletes based on gender differences. It is necessary to empower the clinical staff about this issue more so that the female athletes get better treatment and caring for a speedy recovery. References Brumitt, J., Heiderscheit, B.C., Manske, R.C., Niemuth, P.E. and Raugh M.J. (2013). Lower extremity functional tests and risk Of injury in division lll collegiate athletes. The International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy. Volume 8, Number 3. June 2013 Joseph, M.F., Holsing, K.L. and Tiberio, D. (2014). With an Orthotic in Male and Female Collegiate Athletes. Journal of Applied Biomechanics, 2014, 30, 361-365 Peers, S.C. Maerz, T., Baker, E.A., Shetty, A., Xia, Y., Puwal, S., Marcantonio, D., Keyes, D and Guettler, J. (2014). T1r Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Detection of Early Cartilage Changes in Knees of Asymptomatic Collegiate Female Impact and Nonimpact Athletes. Clin J Sport Med. Volume 24, Number 3, May 2014 Roach, C.J., Haley, C.A., Cameron, K.L., Pallis, M., Svoboda, S.J and Owens, B.D. (2014). The Epidemiology of Medial Collateral Ligament Sprains in Young Athletes Am J Sports Med 2014 42: 1103 Winterstein, A.P., McGuine, T.A., Carr, K.E. and Hetzel, S.J.(2013). Comparison of IKDC and SANE Outcome Measures Following Knee Injury in Active Female Patients. Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach 2013 5: 523 Read More