WOMEN'S TRAINING

We've all known that helpless feeling when injury strikes, but by taking back control of the situation it could even speed up the recovery process. Lauren Drinkwater explains...

- LAUREN DRINKWATER

If you're someone who enjoys fitness and being active, nothing quite prepares you for when an injury strikes. You've invested time and effort into getting fitter, healthier, stronger, and now you're back to where you started.

Whether you're training for an event or you're sticking to a regular exercise regime, it can be soul-destroying to have to start from scratch, and, annoyingly, this is something women are more likely to go through than men.

According to research, some injuries (like stress fractures and injuries surrounding the knee cap and anterior cruciate ligament) are up to six times more common among women. Factors which play a part in this depressing statistic are the female bone structure, hormonal influences, muscle development and nutrition. Common among women in sports is also what's called the 'female athlete triad' an interrelationship of menstrual dysfunction, low energy availability (with or without an eating disorder), and decreased bone mineral density. If left too long without treatment, it can increase the risk of stress fractures.

HOW TO AVOID INJURY

But there is hope. Firstly, let's take some tips from the experts on how to avoid an injury in the first place:

• To protect the knee, focus on how you land on your feet. Keep the knees pointing forwards and try to use your hamstrings and quads to absorb the impact, while allowing some flexibility in the hips and knees.

• Include exercises which focus on the opposing and supporting muscle groups; i.e the glutes, hamstrings and hips (squats, lunges, leg lifts, deadlifts and hip thrusts or glute bridges).

• Invest in trainers that offer good support and shock absorption.

Try training on softer and/or flatter surfaces as they'll put less strain on the knees.

• Include weight-bearing exercises and strength training in your fitness schedule.