In reflection on the numerous studies investigating differences in athletic performance and risk of injury in male and female athletes, I question whether a lack of control or consideration of physical capacity (eg, strength) or skill (eg, sport-specific or movement skill) potentially confounds
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Exercise and Sport Science Failing by Design in Understanding Female Athletes
Sophia Nimphius
Late Activation of the Vastus Medialis in Determining the Risk of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury in Soccer Players
Nicola Marotta, Andrea Demeco, Gerardo de Scorpio, Angelo Indino, Teresa Iona, and Antonio Ammendolia
Female athletes’ risk of sustaining a noncontact ACL injury is 3.5 times more than male athletes. 1 Hunt Valley symposium in 1999 showed that there is no consensus on anatomic risk factors, there are insufficient data to relate lower-extremity alignment to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury
Newspaper Coverage of Female Athletes Competing in Selected Sports in the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games: The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same
J. Vincent, Charles Imwold, J. T. Johnson, and Dwayne Massey
This study was a comparison of how selected newspapers from Canada, Great Britain, and the United States reported on female athletes competing in four “gender-appropriate” sports with female athletes competing in four “gender-inappropriate” sports at the Centennial Olympic Games. The liberal feminist theoretical framework underpinning this study views equality of opportunity and individual liberty as an inevitable by-product of political, legal, and educational reform juxtaposed with a gradual social acceptance. Content Analysis was used to examine all the articles and photographs from the front pages and the sports sections of the newspapers. Based upon the data, female athletes competing in the “gender-appropriate” sports of swimming, gymnastics, tennis, and diving received more newspaper coverage than female athletes competing in the “gender-inappropriate” sports of soccer, softball, field hockey, and volleyball in terms of the average number of words per article and the average number of paragraphs per article. In addition, the “gender-appropriate” athletes were over-represented in the average number of photographs, the average number of photographs on the first page, and the average number of photographs on the top of the pages. Qualitative analyses of articles and photographs revealed a subtle but discernable amount of culturally stereotyped coverage.
A Tale of Two Brands: Examining Elite Female Athletes’ Branding and Self-Presentation Strategies Over Time
Hailey A. Harris and Natasha T. Brison
the time frame of their life. For female athletes in particular, branding and self-presentation styles may differ from those used by male athletes ( Lobpries et al., 2018 ; Smith & Sanderson, 2015 ) as women may have challenges not experienced by men due to gender-based societal expectations. For
Effects of Skill Level, Hand Laterality and Movement Direction during Visuomotor Processing of Female Athletes Performing Manual Aiming Tasks
Pamela J. Hoyes Beehler
Hand laterality research efforts have shown a performance advantage in terms of pointing accuracy and limb speed (movement time—MVT) for the preferred hand (right-hand), and a slight reaction time (RT) performance advantage for the non-preferred hand (left-hand) for rapid manual aiming movements (Flowers, 1975; Roy, 1983; Roy & Elliott, 1986). These performance advantages for the right and left-hands, respectively, are considered an enigma in the motor behavior literature (Magill, 1993) and were investigated. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of skill level, hand laterality, and movement direction during visuomotor processing of female athletes performing manual aiming tasks. Results showed that skill level and hand laterality did not influence the initiation of manual aiming movements; but, left direction movements were initiated faster than right direction movements. Right-hand MVT was faster than left-hand MVT; but, main effects skill level and movement direction were not significant for MVT. Skill level did interact with hand laterality and movement direction for MVT. Also, right-hand right direction movements were the easiest manual aiming tasks to complete while left-hand right direction movements were the most difficult manual aiming tasks to complete. Differences in hemispheric visuomotor processing when performing manual aiming movements based on skill level and hand laterality were discussed. Training implications for manual aiming movements were also discussed.
Effect of Iron Supplementation on Thyroid Hormone Levels and Resting Metabolic Rate in Two College Female Athletes: A Case Study
Penny Harris Rosenzweig and Stella L. Volpe
Iron plays an important role in thyroid hormone metabolism; thus, iron deficiency anemia may lead to alterations in resting metabolic rate (RMR). Based on this premise, two iron-deficient-anemic female athletes, 18 (A 1) and 21 (A2) years of age, were supplemented with 23 mg/day of elemental iron to assess its effects on iron and thyroid hormone status and RMR at 0, 8, and 16 weeks. Anemia was clinically corrected in both subjects (hemoglobin: Al = 11.0 to 13.0 to 12.6 g/dL and A2 = 11.5 to 13.9 to 12.6 g/dL, 0 to 8 to 16 weeks, respectively). Serum ferritin (SF) concentration also improved in both subjects (Al: 5.0 to 11.0 to 15.0 ng/dL and A2: 5.0 to 16.0 to 20.0 ng/dL; 0 to 8 to 16 weeks, respectively); however, 16 weeks of iron supplementation did not fully replete iron stores. A2 increased dietary iron and ascorbic acid intakes from 8 to 16 weeks, possibly accounting for her higher SF concentrations. RMR and total thyroxine changed over time: Al increased while A2 decreased in these variables. Although clinical correction of iron deficiency anemia occurred after 16 weeks of low-level iron supplementation, RMR and thyroid hormone metabolism were oppositely affected in the two subjects.
Power and Trust Dynamics of Sexual Violence: A Textual Analysis of Nassar Victim Impact Statements and #MeToo Disclosures on Twitter
Brian A. Eiler, Rosemary Al-Kire, Patrick C. Doyle, and Heidi A. Wayment
three elite female athletes have suffered some form of sexual violence ( Leahy, Pretty, & Tenenbaum, 2002 ). Despite the suggestion that being an athlete is a protective factor (the “sport protection hypothesis”; Fasting, Brackenridge, & Sundgot-Borgen, 2003 ), rates of sexual violence against female
Retouched and Remarkable: Female Athletes in La Culture Physique (1904) as Historical and Visual Documentation
Rachel Ozerkevich
In the September 1904 issue of La Culture Physique , buried toward the end of the magazine, is a small photomechanical image of Vulcana (née Kate Williams, c. 1883–1939). 1 Captioned “female athlete of the woman weightlifter type,” Vulcana’s image accompanies an article on female beauty (see
Improvement of Elite Female Athletes’ Physical Performance With a 3-Week Unexpected Disturbance Program
Jorg Teichmann, Edin K. Suwarganda, C. Martyn Beaven, Kim Hébert-Losier, Jin Wei Lee, Florencio Tenllado Vallejo, Philip Chun Foong Lew, Ramlan Abdul Aziz, Yeo Wee Kian, and Dietmar Schmidtbleicher
reported in a cohort of female athletes following a neuromuscular training program. 22 The enhanced RFD following sensorimotor training has been attributed to improved extrafacilitory drive from the afferent system. 6 Changes in motorneuron recruitment, firing frequency, and synchronization have also been
Sport Specialization’s Association With an Increased Risk of Developing Anterior Knee Pain in Adolescent Female Athletes
Randon Hall, Kim Barber Foss, Timothy E. Hewett, and Gregory D. Myer
Objectives:
To determine if sport specialization increases the risk of anterior knee pain in adolescent female athletes.
Design:
Retrospective cohort epidemiology study.
Methods:
Female basketball, soccer, and volleyball players (N = 546) were recruited from a single county public school district in Kentucky consisting of 5 middle schools and 4 high schools. A total of 357 multisport and 189 single-sport (66 basketball, 57 soccer, and 66 volleyball) athlete subjects were included due to their diagnosis of patellofemoral pain (PFP) on physical exam. Testing consisted of a standardized history and physician-administered physical examination to determine the presence of PFP. This study compared self-reported multisport athletes with sport-specialized athletes participating in only 1 sport. The sports-participation data were normalized by sport season, with each sport accounting for 1 season of exposure. Incidence rate ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated and used to determine significant differences between athletes who specialized in sport in early youth and multisport athletes.
Results:
Specialization in a single sport increased the relative risk of PFP incidence 1.5-fold (95% CI 1.0−2.2, P = .038) for cumulative PFP diagnoses. Specific diagnoses such as Sinding Larsen Johansson/patellar tendinopathy (95% CI 1.5−10.1, P = .005) and Osgood Schlatter disease (95% CI 1.5−10.1, P = .005) demonstrated a 4-fold greater relative risk in single-sport compared with multisport athletes. Incidence of other specific PFP diagnoses such as fat pad, plica, trauma, pes anserine bursitis, and iliotibial-band tendonitis was not different between single-sport and multisport participants (P > .05).
Conclusion:
Early sport specialization in female adolescents is associated with increased risk of anterior knee-pain disorders including PFP, Osgood Schlatter, Sinding Larsen-Johansson compared with multisport athletes.
