Injuries Abound for Women Athletes

SUNDAY, Oct. 12, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- Fall is when many women take to the field for soccer, volleyball or field hockey, and that makes it prime time for women's athletic injuries.

In fact, as increasing numbers of females have become active in fall sports at all levels of competition, their rates of injury have reached or exceeded those of males in the same or similar sports.

Soccer injury figures from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) illustrate the trend:

• According to NCAA, there were 4.9 injuries per women's collegiate soccer practice and 17.2 injuries per game in fall 2001. The upper leg, ankle and knee were the top three body parts injured in practice, accounting for 55 percent of the reported injuries. However, in games, the knee, ankle and head accounted for 54 percent of the reported injuries. Strains, sprains and contusions were the top types of injuries in practices and games.
• Concussions accounted for 11 percent of women's soccer game injuries, compared to 9 percent of men's soccer game injuries. Concussions were also common in women's field hockey, accounting for 13 percent of all game injuries.
• Some 58 percent of game injuries in women's soccer resulted from player contact; 21 percent were associated with a slide tackle.
• Thirty-two percent of women's soccer game injuries restricted subsequent participation for seven days or more, while 10 percent resulted in surgery.
• Consistent with patterns that have been monitored since 1989, women soccer players had a fourfold higher risk overall of anterior cruciate ligament injury than men soccer players.

More information

Find out more about women's sports injuries.