Women's Sports Medicine Program
Our Mission
Our experts from multiple specialties provide coordinated and comprehensive care for female athletes. We provide cutting edge, evidence-driven treatment and to contribute to the scientific knowledge necessary to optimize the care of female athletes. As women continually break barriers in their careers in sports, the Women’s Sports Medicine Program at Mass General is designed to support the growing medical needs of this unique population.
Clinical Care
Our experts are leaders in their fields, each with a special interest in treating female athletes and experience in treating athletes in female-specific sports.
Research
Together, our experts collaborate to identify and develop solutions to female-specific injuries and conditions in sports medicine.
Education & Outreach
We provide education, focusing particularly on improving community education & outreach on important topics like injury prevention for athletes, coaches, athletic trainers and parents.
What makes female athletes different?
As the caliber of women's sports continues to rise, the image and definition of the female athlete continues to evolve. Women are more commonly staying active with age, and participating in an expanding variety of sports and exercise modalities. With this, the rates of acute and overuse injuries we see in females athletes are rapidly rising, yet knowledge of the factors that influence injuries in women is still evolving.
Female athletes are 4-8 times more likely to tear their ACL than males.
Muscle imbalances and specific movement patterns can cause females to be at greater risk for injuries, but this risk can be lowered.
Disordered eating is a common problem in female athletes.
Whether intentional or not, alterations in diet and energy availability can lead to serious metabolic consequences that can result in bone injury and subsequent medical conditions.
Pregnancy is a unique challenge for female athletes.
With growing knowledge about the safety of training during pregnancy, our multidisciplinary team helps guide the treatment of sports medicine injuries in the peripartum period.
Are women's hearts different than men's hearts?
Cardiovascular considerations and performance measures in exercise tolerance are different in female and male athletes.
Concussion symptoms vary between males and females
Females appear to be more likely to suffer from prolonged symptoms after sustaining a concussion when compared to males.
Can hormones play a role in sports injuries?
Hormonal changes can influence certain musculoskeletal conditions. Changes in energy availability can also cause hormonal alterations.
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