As women, we typically have busy lives which can lead to a yo-yo approach to exercise, increasing the risk of sustaining injury. Performing your workouts regularly and taking as many opportunities to move are the secrets to maintaining good health and fitness levels. Women are six times more likely to suffer a knee injury than men, which means more time out from exercise. The ankle and shoulder joints are also more commonly injured in women than in men. Sports scientists still don’t fully understand why this is the case, but this is not surprising when only 4% of all sports research is done on the female body. One particular risk factor for women relates to the anatomical difference between males and females. Women generally develop wider hips than males (to allow for childbearing) which leads to a greater ‘Q’ angle. The Q angle is the angle between the quadriceps muscles of the thigh and the patella tendon of the knee, which is up to five degrees greater in women. The wider angle has been linked to increased knee pain in women and to a greater risk of ACL injury which has been highlighted recently in women’s football. The increased ‘Q’ angle causes the knees to cave inwards resulting in greater stress on the joint and increased risk of injury. The issue is magnified when we factor in that women tend to have stronger quads (the big muscles at the front of the leg) than the glutes (in your bottom) and hamstrings (the muscles down the back of the thigh). This is known as quad dominance and it is the result of this muscle imbalance which puts more stress on the knee joint and greater risk of injury. All the exercises recommended in the book are the same as the ones we do in class including squats, split squats, hip hinges, lunges, bridges, table-top and balance work. Just make sure that when you do your squats or lunges your knees go over or slightly in front of the toes. Top tip: stand in front of a mirror and take a good look at what your body is doing. The Female Body Bible by Dr Emma Ross, Baz Moffatt and Dr Bella Smith
