Sports Medicine and Injuries in the Athletic Woman

Abstract

There is a general trend toward increased participation of females in sports and physical activity across the lifespan. While women were banned from the first modern Olympic games in 1896, they comprised 35.1% of the participants in 1996. There were a few early pioneers, including Olympic champions Charlotte Cooper and Mildred “Babe” Didrikson, but World War II probably had a greater influence on society’s acceptance of the female athlete. With men away at war, the women were called upon to accomplish all types of physical tasks on the home front. In World War II the depiction of “Rosie the Riveter” as well as the success of the All American Girl’s Baseball League redefined “appropriate” roles for women. The trend of increased female participation in athletics escalated in the last half of the twentieth century when in 1972, Title IX of the Educational Amendment Act allowed equal access to all federally funded activities including school-sponsored sports. In the 1980s there was a 700% increase in participation of women and girls in sports and another 50% increase was seen in the 1990s. One in 27 high school girls participated in sports in 1972. This number increased to 1 in 3 by 1998 and continues to grow. More and more research is revealing the tremendous benefits of exercise in women. Physicians will continue to play a key role in encouraging and even prescribing physical activity. Given the explosion of female athletic participation, it is imperative that physicians understand not only the benefits, but also the orthopedic and medical challenges that specifically apply to women in sports.