January 30th 2012 -
The need for greater understanding of women’s sports health issues has come about due in part to the increase in participation in various sports and exercise by women. Both genders are susceptible to injury with this type of participation but women especially need to be aware of a few issues we’ll talk a little about here in this article.
Knee injuries are a common problem in sports, and women are especially susceptible to these. These injuries can happen at any age, from girls playing in school teams to women going to the gym, the most common injuries relate to the ACL or anterior cruciate ligament. While health experts aren’t sure why, women are ten times more likely to have this type of injury than men, so it’s extremely important to be aware of this vulnerability. A sports medicine specialist can help you diagnose knee pain if you are having any but it’s important that you discontinue exercise until you are sure it’s safe to resume. When there is a potential problem with your knees it’s important to realize that continuing to play or workout can cause more damage over time. Following the advice of your coach, trainer or physician is important when trying to reduce the risk of knee injury since they can teach you the best way to move. Women start to lose muscle mass every year starting around their mid thirties. Your metabolism will begin to slow around this time as well. There are some unwanted side effects to this naturally occurring change. At this stage in your life, your body doesn’t burn as many calories during the day, which means if you eat the same amount without increasing your activity, you’ll tend to gain weight. This is why exercise is so important for any women in this stage of life. You will burn fat more efficiently and help counteract the slowdown in metabolism and its effects on your body. You should also consider decreasing the amount of fatty foods and carbohydrates or sugars you are eating every day.
For those seeking health or weight loss via exercise the lower part of the body is often the biggest challenge at least for women anyway. It doesn’t matter if you want to lost weight around the stomach, hips or legs there are several options for exercise that will help in these areas. The best approach is of course to include both aerobic and anaerobic exercises such as circuit training regularly. This requires you to alternate between a comfortable pace and short spurts of intense activity to increase the heart rate and make breathing labored. This will ultimately push your body and increase your metabolism to burn fat.
Finally, women’s sports medicine involves a number of issues and depending on what factors are at play (such as your age and activity type) you could potentially have more of the concerns we have discussed in this article. If you take the time to talk to a physician skilled in sports medicine, they can advise you on any of these issues (and more) and potentially help you avoid trips to the doctor by teaching you some sensible precautions to take.
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