When it comes to making sports safe for girls, it’s important to stay ahead of the curve. We need to offer soccer solutions that strengthen and protect our players. The majority of injuries for youth girls are also sourced in developmental progress. If your kid says they’re hurt it is important to listen to their complaint. Soccer is a tough sport. But explore the complaint, keep a record of it, and remind them when the pain is a minor issue such as a scrape that there is pain in soccer.
How to better keep sports safe for girls
Around age 13 though the injuries become a big deal – knee injuries and concussions are occurring with greater frequency.
This is a very hard topic for me as I have daughters and I care about my clients.
I have re-blogged an article from ‘TEAM MOM’ that explores this topic in great detail. Enjoy!
Statistics about girls sports injuries
The statistics about girls’ sports injuries can be scary for parents: females suffer from up to 10 times as many anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries as males.
In comparable sports (such as basketball, hockey, and soccer), females sustain nearly 30 percent more serious injuries than males.
Perhaps most alarmingly, sports-related concussion rates are twice as high for women and girls and researchers don’t know why.
20 must know tips on heading the ball
Increase of girls playing means more injuries
Part of the reason for the overall increase in and visibility of girls’ injuries is simply because of the sheer numbers of females participating in organized sports today.
In the mid-1970’s, only about 1 in 27 young women played high school sports. Now that number has soared to 1 in 3, according to Nicole LaVoi, assistant director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport.
Related: Study: 1/3 kids, badly injured while playing sports
Researchers also point out that athletic training has traditionally been developed for male bodies and hasn’t kept pace with the physiological requirements of girls and women.
During puberty, girls and boys both sprout in height, but boys put on more muscle. This imbalance can lead to and increase in sprains and fractures, especially related to the knees, hips, and pelvis.
Female hormonal cycles can also cause connective tissues to soften.
“As a nation, we need to do better at educating youth coaches on injuries.”
Good news a good warm up cuts sports injuries
“The good news is in all this is,” Tim Hewitt, head of sports medicine research at Ohio State University, told Reuters Health, “these imbalances we observe can be corrected with neuromuscular training.”
A study of more than 1,500 girls in the Chicago public school system showed that a warm-up that included strengthening, balance, and agility exercises cut injuries to the lower extremities by half.
The cost of training coaches to properly implement such as routines as “Girls Can Jump”, which was developed by Laura Rasmus, P.T., the head athletic trainer to the WNBA’s Detroit Shock, is also significantly less than the cost of medical treatment.
LaVoi would like to see more not fewer girls participate in athletics. “For that one girl who is playing on a team,” she tells Yahoo! Shine, “the second barely meets the minimum requirement for physical activity, and the third is completely sedentary.”
Adults need to be educated so they can pass on the knowledge to the kids.
Benefits for girls who participate in athletics
The benefits of sports for girls are well researched and wide-ranging.
The Women’s Sports Foundation reports that girls who participate in athletics are less likely to become overweight or obese, enjoy better self-esteem, and have lower rates of drug and alcohol use and teen pregnancy.
A study of more than 1,500 girls in the Chicago public school system showed that a warm-up that included strengthening, balance, and agility exercises cut injuries to the lower extremities by half.They also do better in school and learn skills that are critical for future success including teamwork, goal setting, problem solving, and perseverance.
According to the New York Times, 80 percent of female executives working at Fortune 500 companies identified themselves as “tomboys” who grew up participating in athletics.
Risks for both boys and girls
“There are risks for both girls and boys,” says LaVoi. Females may get more ACL injuries, but males experience more ankle injuries, for instance.
Since the rate of injuries is highest for football and wrestling, the number of athletic boys who get hurt across all sports is almost double that of girls.
Depends on the competency of the coach
What’s different, LaVoi says, is that there is a “moral panic” around any new research about girls’ athletic injuries. She adds, “Parents need to be familiar with the risks and benefits of the sports their child is going to participate in. The benefits aren’t automatic.
If your child is going to build confidence, make friends, have fun, or lose weight, some of it depends on the competency of the coach and the other adults who are involved.”
Together we can make sports safe for girls. Right now, as a country we need to do better.
Safekids.org has a wealth of information on helping both young female and male athletes stay injury-free.
By Sarah B. Weir, Shine Senior Writer | Team Mom
Our Most Popular Posts:
- 3 ways to strike the ball with power
- How to boost confidence in soccer
- 8 best 1st- touch drills
- Expert dribbling tips
- Goal side defending
Follow @GFTskills on Social Media