Female Athletes And The Female Athlete, By Irene Lambrinoudaki And Dimitra Papadimitriou

Building denser bones is extremely important for the elderly and especially elderly women. Osteoporosis is the gradual thinning of bone mass and bone density (“Osteoporosis”). Osteoporosis is a very common disease amongst women and it is estimated that approximately 1 out of 5 women in the United States of America over the age of 50 years have Osteoporosis (“Osteoporosis”). At least half of all women over 50 will fracture a major bone such as a hip, spine, arm, or wrist (“Osteoperosis”). Osteoporosis is a very painful, debilitating, and even fatal disease that can be prevented through good diet and most importantly physical activity such as weightlifting. Studies have shown that the risk of Osteoporosis is lower for people who are more active and especially for those who participate in activities such as weightlifting (“Bone Builders”). The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research conducted a study measuring the bone density of athletes and all of the athletes on average had 13% higher bone density than non-athletes; the highest being in athletes who

There are numerous causes of osteopenia. Usually as people age, naturally their bones become weaker and thinner, more susceptible to breaking. Around the age of 30, all people begin to reach their peak bone density. The thicker and stronger your bones are, the less likely you are able to develop the disease. Women are more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with the disease because Women have a significantly lower peak bone density and the deterioration of bone mass speeds up as hormonal changes that occur during the time of menopause. It is also becoming more common in young female athletes. Young female athletes that

Osteoporosis is a bone disease that occurs when the body loses too much bone, makes too little bone, or both. As a result, bones become weak and may break from a fall or, in serious cases, from sneezing or minor bumps (nof.org). This skeletal disease is characterized by the increase in the fragility of bones as a result of reduced bone mass density and the deformation of the structure of bone tissue (Angin,Erden,Can, 849). Many patients with osteoporosis are instructed by their doctor to exercise; as this will improve their rehabilitation of this disease and lessen the pain associated with it.

Women in professional sports fits into the Sex and Power: Global Gender Inequality class because many female athletes have experienced the inequalities in a professional sports setting. Female athletes are being put down by gender inequalities, causing less females participating in athletic programs. Women athletes are being paid less than their male counterparts. Along with being paid less, female and males are receiving unequal benefits in the form of scholarship, media coverage, transportation, and stadium conditions. The professional sport’s world is filled with the obsession of body image and sexuality. Through this obsession, female athletes have been abused from the people they trust the most. There is an increasing inequality in women’s professional sports in the form of pay, sexuality, and abuse.

There are a plethora of health issues that contribute to bone loss, such as nutrition (low calcium consumption) and rarely engaging in exercise, people who have an unhealthy lifestyle such as smoking or extreme alcohol usage are also at risk. “Bone loss in adolescence and early adulthood can be a result of a failure to attain peak bone mineral density, and accelerated bone loss may be particularly noted around menopause and in later years” (Lin, 2014, para. 1). Though the exact cause is unknown, additional sources may include latent health disorders such as thyroid problems.

As generally stated in the introduction, osteoporosis is a skeletal disorder that involves the strength and integrity of one’s bones. The WHO defines osteoporosis as, “a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by low-bone mass, deterioration of bone tissue, increased bone fragility, and its susceptibly to recurrent fractures.” 2 The most important factor to take into account when addressing osteoporosis is the mass of bone, also referred to as, bone mineral density (BMD). As bone mass begins to decline, typically in the older population, specifically postmenopausal women, individuals are at an increased risk for fractures.3 As a result of this serious condition, many people are affected by morbidity, mortality, and economic difficulty.1

The female athlete triad is a potentially serious condition affecting many women and is particularly common among young women participating in sports. The female athlete triad is a condition consists of three clinical entities includes, menstrual dysfunction, low energy availability and decreased bone mineral density. This complex disorder was first invented by the American college of sports medicine in 1992 after many experts in the filed had noticed a pattern among adolescent and young adult female athlete patients. Low bone density is a dangerous result of the triad, and the degree of low bone mineral density in young patients is significantly dependent on age of onset and duration of amenorrhea. Low energy availability play an important

Female athlete triad is a condition where bone loss, irregular menstrual cycles, and energy deficiency occur in athletes. Occasionally referred to as the triad, this condition is seen mostly in female athletes, although in rare cases male athletes can suffer from it as well. It occurs so often in today 's female athletes however, due to distorted body expectations, common menstrual irregularities, and the already lower bone densities of women. When these symptoms combine, it creates a very serious and life-long health risk.

The interrelated factors of the female athlete triad are energy availability, menstrual function, and bone mineral density each of which develops along a continuum. Each factor may progress to a point where it is a clinical condition such as an eating disorder. The three factors may be present together and have developed in sequence, low energy availability due to low energy (caloric) intake and high energy expenditure leads to amenorrhea that leads to osteoporosis, although each of these conditions can occur independently of the others. Whether alone or in combination with each other, when energy availability, menstrual function, and bone mineral density are comprimised they represent substantial health risks for the female athlete. Low

In this Podcast, Peter Melanson interviews Diane Vives – director of Vives Training Systems in Austin, Texas, on training female athletes. Peter asks Diane a series of questions in regards to female athletes versus male athletes on how to train better, the differences between training, and the types of injuries caused from the training between men and women athletes. Diane answers with questions with research and studies that supports her theories and reasoning’s to her ways of training the female athlete.

The researchers suggested female athletes to pay particular attention to their bodies at this intersection of their sports careers and their lives. Bones develop at their greatest rate during the teenage years for girls and especially for girls in high-impact sports, it is an absolute necessity to provide their bodies with proper

Billie Jean King, Val Ackerman, and Richard Nixon, when first looked upon may seem to be three unrelated people lacking connection, however under the light of the fight for women equality and the unexpected rise of female athletes, they carry a much stronger association than one might think. In fact, the signing of Title IX, the enactment of equal prize money at Wimbledon, and even the beginnings of the WNBA stand to be crucial factors to lead to the rise of female athletes.

The adverse topic of women in sports stems from society's disregard to viewing women as persons. Women were, and in other parts of the world continue to be viewed as property of men and have no significant role in society. Being allowed into the Olympics was a step in the right direction for women across the world, but it was meager attempt equality. Women were still restricted by what events they were allowed to compete in, how they were trained and coached and even limited as to what they could wear. A woman’s femininity played a large role in the way they were perceived by society; weak. Women were seen as incommensurate to men and it was something that has taken us centuries to reverse. Today, women are given the rights we should have

In the last one hundred years women have made tremendous inroads in many facets of life. Of that there can be little doubt. Women may now hold jobs, own property and participate in professional sports. Today women can compete in sports, once a vestige of male domination; there is now room for women in that arena. But even today women in sports are not portrayed in the same light as their male counterparts. To a large degree this is because of today's cultural ideal of women.

Women. Men. They are both a unique and special being that is on earth. In a perfect society, men and women would have the same physical strength and they would be completely equal. The idea of women and men being able to play against each other is wonderful but realistically it might not work out as great. Of course, women can do anything men can do, but in a competitive situation like this, the results of this change could bring forth more negative impacts than positive ones. In professional sports, women and men should be kept separate due to being biologically different and because of the possibility of the quality of the performances in the sports decreasing.