Men and women are built differently.

• Position: Orthopedics - Brief Article

For several years, researchers have been investigating the differences between men and women when it comes to their musculoskeletal structures. According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, female athletes are four to six times more likely to sustain a serious knee injury than males who participate in the same sport. Females who play sports are also more susceptible to developing problems with body image that lead to orthopedic problems than men. While osteoporosis has been looked on as a condition that affects only women, orthopedic surgeons are seeing a rise in the condition among men.

When a woman participates in a sport like basketball or soccer, she is four to six times more likely to sustain an injury to the anterior cruciate ligament of the knee than a man playing the same sport. Researchers investigating this phenomenon have associated biomechanical and neuromuscular factors with this increased risk for injury. "We studied male and female collegiate athletes who play sports like volleyball, basketball, and soccer, which are all sports that require pivoting, and compared them to male and female athletes who play sports like cycling, crew, and running, sports that don't require pivoting," explains Edward M. Wojtys, director of the Med Sport section of orthopedic surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. "We found that female athletes in the pivoting sports often had less muscle protection at the knee than their male counterparts. That lack of muscle protection, which helps absorb the load on the knee joint, may contribute to the injury susceptibility."

"Neuromuscular factors, like how an athlete lands from a jump, may also be factors in injury risk," says Freddie...