Overuse injuries in female athletes

Abstract

The last three decades have witnessed a tremendous increase in female sports participation at all levels. However, increased sports participation of female athletes has also increased the incidence of sport-related injuries, which can be either acute trauma or overuse injuries. Overuse injuries may be defined as an imbalance caused by overly intensive training and inadequate recovery, which subsequently leads to a breakdown in tissue reparative mechanisms. This article will review the most frequent overuse injuries in female athletes in the context of anatomical, physiological, and psychological differences between genders.

Figure 1

Lower extremity anatomic differences between genders that may predispose women to certain overuse injuries. (A) 1 – less muscular thigh development, 2 – increased flexibility, 3 – less developed musculus vastus obliquus, 4 – genu valgum, 5 – wider pelvis, 6 – femoral anteversion, 7 – narrow femoral notch, and 8 – external tibial rotation; (B) 1 – more developed thigh musculature, 2 – less flexibility, 3 – vastus medialis obliquus hypertrophy, 4 – genu varum, 5 – narrower pelvis, 6 – wider femoral notch, and 7 – internal or neutral tibial torsion.

Figure 2

Stress fracture of the second metatarsal bone.

Figure 3

Magnetic resonance image of the female volleyball player diagnosed with jumper’s knee.