We here at introPLAY want all our Players to train to reach their utmost potential and achieve their personal goals. One of the most important things to remember is the need to train smartly and focus on injury prevention. With that in mind, we want to help spread awareness on preventing knee injuries suffered by female athletes.
Several weeks ago, the New York Times Magazine featured an article entitled “The Uneven Playing Field.” The author discussed at length injuries sustained by female athletes, focusing on ACL injuries in younger female soccer players.
The author mentioned one routine that focused on injury prevention, called the PEP Program created by the Santa Monica Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Group. The PEP Program is a 15 minute warm up replacement session, meant to be practiced 2 to 3 times per week. Results from this program are proving to be successful in bringing down the number of ACL injuries experienced by women playing soccer. (A PDF of the program can be downloaded here.)
Also, in an article released today, Medical News Today reported that the Neurologic and Orthopedic Hospital of Chicago has released a pamphlet titled “Leveling the Playing Field: Knee Injury Prevention Strategies for Female Athletes.” The pamphlet reports facts on such injuries and tips and techniques to help prevent them. Unfortunately copies are not available online. You can contact Sandy Langston at 773-250-1009 or email sjlangston [at] neuro-ortho [dot] org to request a copy.
If you are a female athlete or you are a coach or trainer charged with the conditioning of female athletes, we highly recommend you take a look at the PEP Program and the Neurologic and Orthopetic Hospital pamphlet and adopt some or all of the routines recommended by these great, free resources.
