Preventing Knee Injuries in Female Athletes
What are the most common knee injuries for female athletes?
Female athletes (especially ones in middle school/high school) are more prone to injuries in their knees than their male counterparts. This is due to anatomical differences that start occurring during puberty. The increasing width of girls’ hips leaves them vulnerable to injury because of something called the Q angle.
The wider a person’s hips, the greater the Q angle. The greater the Q angle, the more stress and instability in the knee. This increased stress/instability can easily lead to a number of knee injuries. Most commonly, these injuries occur in the ACL, MCL, or the medial meniscus. These injuries can often occur together all at once. When this happens, it is referred to as the “unhappy triad”.
What can I do to prevent these injuries?
Weakness in the hips can dynamically increase the Q angle that a person has, thus increasing the stress on the knee even further. In order to reduce the risk of getting these types of injuries, a person can work on strengthening their hip muscles, specifically the gluteal muscles. Exercises like side steps or clamshells are perfect for helping to increase the dynamic stability of the knee. Here are a few examples of exercises that will help out.
Side Steps:
Clamshells:
Pick one of the exercises and perform it for 2 sets of 15 to 20 repetitions every other day and this will strengthen the hips well. If you have increased pain beyond normal discomfort with these exercises, discontinue them and consult with a physical therapist.
Have any pain or want to know more about how physical therapy can help you? Call us at 260-739-0300 today!
