The 3 Biggest Problems with Women's Sports

Updated: Nov 21, 2022

The impact sports training has on a female athlete's development

3 Questions for you:

How were you taught about fitness?
How did it shape your physical and mental health?
Is this the way we should be teaching the next generation?

Here’s why I ask - I was introduced to this topic through sports. My parents put this hyperactive girl in gymnastics in kindergarten. They told me that it was a last-ditch effort to keep me from breaking my neck, as crazy stunts were already my M.O. I’m grateful they did! It was through gymnastics that I learned to move and control my body, and to fall without hurting myself. I also learned the drive to stick with difficult tasks and what it feels like to accomplish something amazing (as well as an outlet for that crazy energy). I credit a great deal of who I have become to gymnastics and other sports I played throughout my childhood and adolescent years. I even coach gymnastics today because it was so valuable for me, and it’s something I am passionate about teaching.

However, speaking from this experience, I’ve observed some fundamental issues that must be brought to light. Especially when I consider the impact sports had on me and my peers. I want to educate the next generation of athletes.

I am going to address three main problems that I‘ve seen: eating disorders (E.D.), missing periods (you know I have to talk about periods), and long-term injury. I recognize that some of these issues affect male athletes, but my experience and education is female-based, so that is my main focus here. I am also not a doctor. I am speaking from my own and others' experiences, and the research I myself have done.

That being said, let's dive in:

Athletes with eating disorders psychiatry.org defines eating disorders as

“behavioral conditions characterized by severe and persistent disturbance in eating behaviors and associated distressing thoughts and emotions.”

The stereotypical athletic body is sleek with no fat and all muscle. Before puberty, this body type is quite achievable and a natural expression of the physical efforts that they put in. Post-puberty, a young woman's body often will begin to develop in ways that are foreign to her. Females in the general population are already 10% more likely than their male counterparts to develop an eating disorder. It is not uncommon for the athlete to begin struggling with her body image as she feels the pressure to keep her old body, a problem that can be made worse by careless or even intentional comments from coaches. Instead of striving to support the development of a healthy, confident woman, a coach’s “encouragement” often aids in or is the direct cause of eating disorders in female athletes. This affect is compounded when you consider that athletes are more likely to exhibit perfectionist tendencies. Well, female athletes are only 6% more likely to develop an eating disorder than non-athletes; they are at a much higher risk of injury than the non-athletes due to lowering bone density, etc. but studies show that through the education of coaches and athletes, early detection, and building a better support system for the athlete, prevention is possible.

2. The Loss of periods

It is no secret in the fitness world that when your workouts are out of balance with your rest and fuel, you will likely develop issues with your period or lose it altogether. To some, this can be seen as a good thing, especially when the period has been seen as an inconvenience for the athlete. The problem is that periods play an important role in the physical and mental development of the student-athlete. The hormones released during her menstrual cycle aid in constructing better muscle tissue, bone density, metabolism, stamina, and much more. When we allow the period to be halted by expecting the female to over-exercise and under fuel, we also postpone the natural process of her body finding its rhythm. It can take years for a young woman to become "regular" as her body becomes used to the ebbs and flows of her hormones. By such interference of her hormones at this developmental milestone, we are responsible for this foundational process taking far longer than necessary, and it will likely perpetuate further issues with her menstrual health in the future. And unfortunately, such a lifestyle will also affect her fertility and lay the groundwork for the development of other menstrual-related diseases.

3. Life long injury

As the athlete's hormones change, so does her bone structure. Consider the higher cases of leg injuries in female athletes than male athletes: This is largely due to the change in hip structure as the body prepares for the possibility of childbirth. This is a necessary process of widening her hips, which affects the structure of her legs. The angle between the quadricep muscles and the patella tendon is called the Q-angle. While males have an 8-14 degree angle, women tend to have an 11- 20 degree angle. This dramatically affects the stability of the knee and its ability to track properly. This difference actually makes female athletes 2-8 times more likely to injure their ACL than male athletes. This is just one of many injuries that are disproportionately happening to girls in sports, and it affects their bodies tremendously long after their career is over.

So again I ask:

How were you taught about fitness?
How did it shape your physical and mental health?
Is this the way we should be teaching the next generation? Students? Our kids?

These problems are crucial and cannot continue to be overlooked. So, is the answer to kick all women out of the gym? No! As stated above, there are enormous benefits to participating in sports, and gymnastics has made a huge impact on who I’ve become. But we also have to look at the facts and realize that we are wreaking havoc on the female body if we continue to manage women’s sports in the same way we have been for decades. Sports can and must change.

In my industry alone, we have made major advancements in other areas that require massive attention.

The gymnastics world was rocked when gymnasts began to come forward about their sexual, mental, and physical abuse. Other previously unspoken methods of the female sports industry, such as "tough coaching", used to be commonplace and widely accepted. Now, as a result of people who insisted on change, it is considered emotional abuse. In order to be a certified USAG coach, you must take classes to be informed and prevent this damaging behavior. These are wonderful steps towards protecting the mental and emotional health of athletes.

While we've made progress, and it exemplifies how much we care about our athletes, we can do so much more.

With proper education and training, these mental health, menstrual health, and career-ending injuries are in many cases preventable. As the female athlete undergoes the inevitable structural changes of puberty, care must be taken to teach the student how to move safely in her own changing body. We can change the legacy of sports from something to recover from, to a key part of developing healthy, confident women.