Since Title IX was passed in 1972, female participation in sports has increased tremendously. Female athletes now have access and opportunities to participate in sports like never before.
In the most recent Paris Olympics, women represented 50 percent of all competitors–the first time ever. Women’s participation in sports is more culturally and socially acceptable than ever before. While women were once relegated to sports that emphasized artistry and traditional femininity, women can now participate in a wide range of sports.
While women’s involvement and success in sport has grown tremendously in the last few years, women still face significant challenges in sport. In this post, we will discuss some of those challenges in more detail and present a path forward for female athletes. In no way is this post exhaustive of all the issues athletic women face, but a starting discussion on some of the unique issues sportswomen face.
Research on Female Athletes
Unfortunately, most sports, training and nutrition research is conducted on male athletes. A 2018 review of sports nutrition research found that only 15.4 percent of studies focused on women athletes. A 2020 analysis published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that only about 12 percent of all exercise science studies even included female participants at all.
If only a paucity of research is conducted on women, how will we be able to adequately advise athletic women? Women are not small men and research findings on men don’t always apply to us. While efforts have been made to include more women in exercise science and nutrition research, we still have a long way to go before we are equally represented in research studies. One way to encourage more equal representation in exercise science and nutrition studies is to encourage more women to become researchers. Female scientists are more likely to study women and are also more likely to report findings by sex and gender.
Body Image and Eating Disorders in Female Athletes
Unfortunately, a significant percentage of female athletes suffer from body image disorders, eating disordered behavior and eating disorders. This may be due to a greater emphasis on women athletes’ appearance in our society. Over 62 percent of women athletes experience disordered eating. 58 percent of female athletes experience bulimia. Eating disorders like anorexia are more common in sports that emphasize lightness or an aesthetic ideal.
Many women who participate in sports also receive inappropriate nutrition advice. Despite having higher than average calorie needs, many sports women don’t eat enough to fuel their athletic endeavors. This can impact performance, increase the risk of injuries and cause hormonal disturbances (RED-S).
One strategy to improve body image among athletic women is for coaches, parents and friends to focus on performance rather than weight or appearance. Referring female athletes to sports dieticians can also help. Referring female athletes to appropriate professionals before they exhibit eating disorder symptoms can also help improve eating habits among women athletes.
Knee Ligament Injuries
Female athletes experience knee injuries at a rate that far exceeds their male counterparts. Female athletes are two to eight times more likely to tear their ACL than male injuries. The majority of female ACL tears are non-contact injuries, while male ACL tears are more likely to be contact injuries. Many factors influence the higher rate of ACL tears among women, including joint structure, joint angles, landing technique, and ligament laxity at specific phases of the menstrual cycle.
More research may also help guide training decisions to help reduce the risk of knee ligament tears in female athletes. Additionally, strength training for the quads and hamstrings, plyometric and landing training and perhaps even oral contraceptives can help reduce the risk of ACL tears in sports women (although female athletes are not encouraged to take oral contraceptives just to reduce the risk of knee injuries).
To help reduce the risk of ACL tears in female athletes, we can provide them with appropriate strength and proprioception training, and monitor athlete fatigue over the training season.
Urinary Stress Incontinence
Many female athletes face urinary stress incontinence. Urinary stress incontinence, defined as urinary leakage during intense training or competition, is more likely to occur in sports like trampoline, gymnastics, running and other high impact sports. While it’s often assumed that urinary stress incontinence mostly affects women who have given birth, many nulliparous female athletes also experience this issue.
Some research shows that urinary stress incontinence may be more common in female athletes with disordered eating, during fatiguing training cycles, and during menstruation.
Female athletes who experience urinary stress incontinence should be referred to physical therapists that specialize in pelvic health. Incorporating strength training might also improve urinary stress incontinence. Finally, monitoring athlete fatigue and programming in restoration training periods may also help.
Post Partum Return to Sport
Unfortunately, returning to high level sport is difficult after childbirth. Apparently, no peer reviewed studies exist to guide postpartum women on return to sport. Many women face physical challenges after childbirth, including urinary stress incontinence, pelvic pain, musculoskeletal pain, postpartum depression, abdominal separation, pelvic organ prolapse, lack of sleep and lack of time for training and self care.
This lack of research presents the need for more studies guiding post partum return to sport. Access to more support may also help ease the burden on new moms so that they can continue to participate in sport.
Final Thoughts
In this article, we discussed some of the unique challenges that female athletes face. Hopefully, we as coaches, trainers, dieticians and sports psychologists can become more aware of these issues. As the sports landscape continues to evolve, we will hopefully see more attention and research directed to women’s issues in sport. Only by investing in female athletes will we be able to provide women and girls with the best possible experiences in sports.
Are you a female athlete looking to work with a qualified strength and conditioning coach? Consider personal training or one of my online coaching options.
