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The Female Knee
February 02, 2012

Have you ever wondered why the incidences of knee injuries are so much higher in female athletes versus their male counterparts?  I mean think about it, female athletes who participate in jumping and cutting sports are 4 to 6 times more likely to sustain a serious knee injury than male athletes participating in the same sports. The risk factors fall into four basic categories: environmental, anatomical, hormonal, and biomechanical.  Environmental factors included: shoe-surface interaction; playing surface; skill level; level of conditioning, muscle strength, etc. 

Anatomical factors:

-        a larger Q-angle or quadriceps angle- this is the angle at which the femur meets the tibia

-        weakness of the vastus medialis- a muscle which extends the knee

-        tight lateral ligaments of the knee that will have a tendency to pull the patella to the side as well

-        shallow anatomy of the groove on the femur

 Hormonal factors - Female sex hormones (i.e. estrogen, progesterone and relaxin) fluctuate immensely during the menstrual cycle and are reported to increase ligamentous laxity and decrease neuromuscular performance and, thus, are a possible cause of decreases in both passive and active knee stability in female athletes.

Biomechanical (this is where chiropractic can have an impact) –

-        standing posture

-        foot pronation (inward rolling of the foot)

-        misalignment of joints of the lower extremity

-        pelvic position

 All of which can contribute to altered neuromuscular control, coordination and/or strength (specifically muscle firing patterns). The structural alignment of the lower extremity contributes to the overall stability of the athlete’s knee as well as the overall muscle firing patterns of the lower extremity.  So hopefully you are wondering, “How can chiropractic help?”  In my opinion and the way that I view chiropractic is that the treatment of the whole body requires synchrony between the nervous system and the mechanical control system of the kinetic chain. Subluxations (misalignments) of ANY joint have both neurological and mechanical components. Mechanoreceptors (a specialized receptor that responds to pressure or tension) are embedded in the tissues surrounding joints. When these tissues get stretched by a misalignment of the joint, this activates an inhibition or weakening of the adjacent muscle. Discovery of these weak muscles and correction of the misaligned joint to restore normal strength which will then in turn lead to greater stability in the corresponding joint.

Even better than me being able to help correct these neuromuscular imbalances is the fact that here at PSSM Newtown, we can utilize Performance 3D (motion capture technology) to gather objective empirical data to specifically determine the imbalances that exist.  Check it out… the technology is Bruce Jenner approved!  Call 215-504-2223 to schedule your sports performance evaluation.

FEMA
October 09, 2006