The ‘X’ Factor: Why female athletes are more likely to suffer career-ending injuries - Higher Education

The ‘X’ Factor: Why female athletes are more likely to suffer career-ending injuries - Higher Education: Imagine the scene: an athlete laid out on the floor in the fetal position with both hands clasped over her knee. Screams fill the air, and tears fall from her eyes as the pain is so intense that it almost defies explanation.

Sports have become an integral part of the developmental experience of many of today’s youth. Since the implementation of Title IX, more young girls and women have begun to play sports and see those sports as a possible career path. Tennis, basketball and soccer all have professional sports leagues for women, and many more sports offer women the ability to pursue their dreams through the highest levels of competition like swimming, gymnastics, track and field, volleyball, etc.

However, this increased participation in athletics has come with an increase in sports-related injuries. One injury in particular has been troublesome for women — the torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).