The Female Athlete

Continued...

You can recognize this type of body alignment either by having your client stand directly in front of you and checking to see if her kneecaps appear to tilt inward toward each other or by measuring the angle between the knee and the quadriceps muscle, commonly referred to as the Q angle.

Strengthening the quadriceps muscle and the anterior tibia muscle while stretching the hamstrings may help reduce injury potential in a woman with this type of anatomy. Nonweight-bearing exercise, such as swimming and bicycling, may also decrease the load on the lower extremities. If the feet are pronated, an arch support and/or podiatry assessment may minimize some problems.

Considering injuries

Surveys of women just beginning an exercise program, as well as recruits at military academies, have shown that women incur more injuries than men. Sprains, fractnres, heat illness, and knee and ankle problems may be more common in your female clients than in your male clients.

The increased rate of injury may result from women being in poorer physical condition when beginning their training. Because of lack of experience, some women may start out on a lower rung of the ladder. You should be cautious developing a program for a woman just beginning to exercise.

However, injuries in well-conditioned women occur at approximately the same rate as in men, and are sport specific. This means women who are in shape suffer the same types of injuries as men when performing the same exercises. To help your clients prevent injuries, make sure they understand and can measure their target heart rate.

A woman beginning an exercise program should maintain her target heart rate for a minimum of 20 minutes per session and exercise for three sessions a week. You should make sure that she understands the basic principles of warm-up, stretching and cool-down exercises and that she makes these a part of her regular routine.

What other problems should you help your women clients avoid?

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Table of Contents

Foreword: Billie Jean King

Comments by Barb Harris
Editor in Chief,
Shape Magazine

General Health
Nutrition
Exercise
Common Medical Problems
Dental Health
Emergency!
Infectious Disease
Sexual Health
Emotional Well-Being
Eating Disorders
Alcohol & Other Drugs
Environmental Health
Prevention