I’ve always been curious why my basketball teammates kept getting knee injuries until last month when Sarah, our point guard, went down with a torn ACL during practice. That night I decided to dig into why this hits women athletes so hard.
Getting Started
First I just typed “Why do women rip knee ligaments more?” into Google Scholar and scrolled through articles until my eyes crossed. Most studies pointed to three big things, so I called up my old physio friend Mike who works with college teams.
Testing Theories
We met at the gym where he coaches female volleyball players. Mike showed me how their landing mechanics differ from guys – knees collapsing inward during jumps like this:
- Hip angle: Women tend to land straighter-legged with less bend
- Muscle firing: Their quads pull harder than hamstrings during cuts
- Pelvis stuff: Wider hips make thigh bones angle sharper toward knees
I tried mimicking their movements and immediately felt unstable. Then Mike hooked me to an EMG machine that showed my muscle activation patterns were totally off when doing side-steps – my hamstrings were basically sleeping.
Connecting the Dots
After two weeks comparing notes with Mike and reading injury reports, three big issues emerged:
- Training gaps: Most programs focus on strength but ignore balance control
- Equipment: Cleats designed for male feet alter women’s pivot mechanics
- Period madness: Hormone swings during cycles make ligaments loosey-goosey
The period part blew my mind. One NCAA study showed ACL tears spiking during certain cycle phases when estrogen peaks.
Putting It Together
Last week I tested this with Sarah’s team. During agility drills, we had them focus on:
- Landing like they’re sitting in invisible chairs
- Engaging butt muscles before making sharp cuts
- Practicing balance on wobble boards 10 mins daily
After two weeks their knee stability scores jumped 30%. Still early days, but watching them move now versus before? Night and day difference.
What started as confusion about my friend’s injury turned into realizing most women’s sports programs treat knees like an afterthought. We gotta build training around how female bodies actually work, not just copy men’s routines.