Coaches May be Hurting Female Athletes, Study Reports
Athletic phenoms such as Marion Jones, Serena Williams and Michelle Kwan have caused a tremendous increase in female sports participation. But, for many young female athletes, this increase in sports participation brings bad news. The latest research reveals female athletes spend $646 million each year on knee surgeries alone, compared to an estimated $81 million for male athletes.
Santa Barbara, Ca (PRWeb) April 7 -- Athletic phenoms such as Marion Jones,
Serena Williams and Michelle Kwan have caused a tremendous increase in female
sports participation. So much so that nearly half of all high school athletes
are now female.
But, for many young female athletes, this increase in
sports participation brings bad news. The latest research reveals female
athletes spend $646 million each year on knee surgeries alone, compared to an
estimated $81 million for male athletes.
With most of the educational
materials being created for male athletes, coaches and trainers just aren’t
receiving the education they need to effectively work with female athletes.
Recently reported by the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine in
their Consensus Report titled, Female Athlete Issues for the Team Physician,
“…injury rate is two to ten times higher in females than in their male
counterparts.”
Edward J. Wojtys, MD, editor of Orthopedics Today's
Sports Medicine section, said that it “has been become clear that the female
athlete is different from the male athlete. Nutrition, training, health issues
all need to be addressed in a gender-specific manner, and recent research has
supported that.” Dr. Wojtys went on to say, “In the past, training of female
athletes was conducted the same as for male athletes. That clearly was not the
right approach.”
“Girls simply cannot train for sports the same way boys
do. In order to avoid excessive injury they must adhere to a specific
pre-training pattern to properly prepare the body – something that most high
school and college coaches don’t know how to do, let alone a weekend soccer
coach,” stated Steve Gordon, PhD, former Chief of Musculoskeletal Diseases
Branch at the at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). “This is precisely the
reason I co-authored SAFELY TRAINING THE ADOLESCENT FEMALE ATHLETE – to help
drive down the high female injury rate by properly educating coaches and
trainers to know how to work with these young athletes.”
Dr. Gordon
commented on the release of the consensus report by saying, “It’s about time
this important issue became noticed by the medical society. More and more girls
are injured every day because of poor athletic training caused by a lack of
quality education for the personal trainers and coaches.”
“This is the
first and most comprehensive training program in the industry. We are honored to
work with these world renowned experts and accomplished authors, Dr. Gordon,
Robert Filer and Warren Potash,” said Dr. Sal Arria, Executive Director of the
International Sports Sciences Association. “Their program is cutting edge yet
easy for anyone to understand. Every person who works with athletes should know
how to safely train adolescent females...there is no excuse, their techniques
and training methods work.” Dr. Arria concluded.
SAFELY TRAINING THE
ADOLESCENT FEMALE ATHLETE is the only training program in existence dealing
specifically with working with young female athletes. Dr. Gordon co-authored the
84-page course with Robert Filer, MPT, and Warren J. Potash, NFTA, Accredited
Fitness Professional, to address topics such as; nutrition and eating disorders,
physical training; shoulder, knee and bone conditions; contest preparation;
stress fractures and menstrual dysfunction. After working with countless female
athletes for a combined 61 years, the three authors have lectured, counseled and
taught thousands of medical Doctors, coaches, personal trainers, and concerned
parents on the proper care of adolescent female athletes.
About the
Program
SAFELY TRAINING THE ADOLESCENT FEMALE ATHLETE, PART 1 ($119, 5
CEU’s); PART II ($119, 5 CEU’s) is published by the International Sports
Sciences Association (ISSA), and can be ordered toll-free 800-892-4772, CEU
department. The program can be ordered online at www.ISSAOnline.com
About ISSA
Since 1988 the International Sports Sciences Association
(ISSA) has provided certification and continuing education to over 50,000
fitness professionals. ISSA certifications are recognized worldwide. From Sports
Conditioning to Youth Fitness, ISSA offers 10 certification programs and dozens
of continuing education courses. For more information on the ISSA, please visit:
www.issaonline.com
To schedule an interview with an author of SAFELY TRAINING THE
ADOLESCENT FEMALE ATHLETE, or with a representative of ISSA, please contact:
Rochelle Yoshida
Director of Public Relations for the ISSA
Email: e-mail protected from spam bots
Toll-free: 1-800-892-4772
International: (805) 884-8111
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/4/prweb116757.htm