Abstract
To investigate the association between the three anatomical factors of Q-angle (QA), pelvic width (PW) and Intercondylar notch width (INW) and knee injuries among the U-23 female soccer players of South Africa The study is a case-control prospective study design. Twenty four U-23 women soccer players of the South African team were purposively chosen to participate in this study. Participants were divided into two groups: group 1 (Case) was those with knee injuries, while those without injuries were in group-2 (Control). PW and INW were measured after X-rays of the hip were taken while the QA was measured manually with the goniomenter. Association between anatomical factors and knee injuries were tested with ANOVA. Q-angle ranged from 14° to 18° for both injured and non injured groups. PW was between 24 -29 cm for both injured and non injured groups. INW was between 1.3mm and 2.8mm for the right and between 1.4mm and 2.5mm for the left notch for the injured group, while INW for the right and left of the non injured group were between 1.7 mm to 2.1 mm and 1.8 mm to 2.1 mm, respectively No significant association between knee injuries and each of the anatomical factors was found QA (p= 0.74), PW (p=0.34), INW (right and left respectively) (p=0.142 & p=0.089). The three anatomical factors of QA, PW and INW could not be used to predict knee injuries amongst the U-23 female players in South Africa.
Highlights
Physical activity is very important for all human beings and the benefits are well-documented for both genders[1,2] The level of physical activity will differ in frequency, intensity, and duration depending on gender, age, and type of physical activity
The most common injuries among female athletes are knee injuries, especially injury to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) 7 Adolescent females suffer a disproportionate number of knee and African Health Sciences Vol 12 No 2 June 2012 anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries compared to adolescent males
McAlindon[8] found that female athletes have four to ten times more ACL injuries than male athletes. This was further reiterated by Ireland and Otto[9] who stated that female athletes have an increased rate of ACL injuries and patelofemoral disorders compared with their male counterparts
Summary
Physical activity is very important for all human beings and the benefits are well-documented for both genders[1,2] The level of physical activity will differ in frequency, intensity, and duration depending on gender, age, and type of physical activity. There have been many studies comparing injury rates between male and female players[8,11,12]. It was found that women soccer players sustain more knee injuries than their male counterparts[11] with ACL, the medial collateral ligament (MCL) and acute injuries to the menisci as the most common[13]. Epidemiological studies of the ACL injury among female athletes revealed that female soccer players sustained 2.29 times more ACL injuries than male soccer players[16].Giza et al[17] analyzed 173 injuries that occurred during the 20012002 seasons of the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA) and found that the most common site for injuries was the knee with (31.8%) and ACL injuries accounted for 4.8%. There is limited empirical information on the association between anatomical factors and knee injuries amongst female soccer players in South Africa. This study will attempt to establish the association between knee injuries and each of the following anatomical factors: QA, PW and INW
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
