Injuries in female teen runners Vs. Boys?
Rolled ankles, tight hips, shin splints, patella tendon, wonky hamstrings…oh my! Only one full month into the season and I was inundated with a plethora of complaints of aches, injuries and side-lined runners. Of course, I automatically wondered if as their cross country coach if I was missing something in their training. Was I contributing to the sudden increase of injuries on my team? 32 runners where 50% are newbies does increase the probability of injuries - that’s a pure statistical fact. Our team was nearly half that size last year. And yet, in such a quagmire, I wondered after our assistant coach observed that the boys team did not seem to have as many injuries or lines pouring out of the trainers like a line waiting for ice cream. I had to admit, she was right. The boys seemed to be running right along so to speak. They were not plagued with shin splints, hip issues, knee and foot issues and rolled ankles. I was befuddled and perplexed. Was I doing anything as their coach to contribute to the increase of injuries this year even after taking into consideration our increase in team size? I decided to take a closer look and dove deep into research.
When I was high school athlete, I do not recall missing any practices or meets due to injuries. Even now, at 61, my injuries over the years are common running injuries that were quickly remedied with self-care, education and the occasional PT. Piroformis syndome and sciatica was my most recent injury which was due to my running form and long commutes of 2 hours a day. The more I sat, the more I felt that familiar pain in the butt and ache in my hips which would send an electric pain down to my leg. As all serious athletes do, I Googled and Youtubed for answers. Eventually, I went to a wonderful PT who also does Ironman races and was cured and educated. Deadbugs, Clam shells, bridges, lunges, single leg deadlifts with the kettle ball and so much more gave me more quad , glute and core strength and eventually after months of training and going to PT, I was pain free and armed with a boat load of prevention exercises.
As it turns out, my research unveiled some startling truths for female teen athletes! According to Adolescent Running Biomechanics from the National Library of Medicine.Gov, cross country running girls are 6.7% vs. 3.8% at greater risk of incurring bone stress injuries or stress fractures than boys. Girls face a significantly higher risk of injury than their male counterparts;driven by factors such as anatomical differences, hormonal changes, and biomechanics. Pelvic and hip mechanics where the female runner tends to have wider hips resulting in weaker hips and knee muscles which can lead to“runner’s knee” or patellofemoral pain in the knee. Females typically run with lower cadence. I tell my runners to be aware and to increase their spm ( cadence). The cadence goal without changing their natural stride should be 170 to 180 spm. The longer a body is making contact with the ground, the higher the stress is on the bones and joints.
