Women and Sports Medicine Program Provides Specialized Care for Patients with Sports Injuries

The Women and Sports Medicine Program offers multidisciplinary, gender-specific evaluation and treatment of sports injuries most common in women.

The Women and Sports Medicine Program – located within the Gretchen S. and Edward A. Fish Center for Women’s Health at the Brigham and Women’s Ambulatory Care Center in Chestnut Hill, MA – offers multidisciplinary evaluation and treatment.

A team of women’s health specialists in the Program – including physiatrists, rheumatologists, endocrinologists, cardiologists, nutritionists, radiologists, psychiatrists, and other specialists – works together in the evaluation and treatment of patients. In addition, specialists in the Program collaborate closely with orthopedic surgeons who offer the latest interventional and surgical options. Physical therapists specializing in women’s health also provide highly-specialized rehabilitative care for female patients with sports injuries.

To evaluate patients and develop treatment plans, specialists in the Program use advanced diagnostic tools, including state-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), as well as the application of an in-depth understanding of the specific nature and trends in sports injuries in women. For example, anatomic differences between women and men – such as relatively loose ligaments, wider hips, and weak quadriceps and hamstrings – make women more prone to certain injuries, including ACL tears and stress fractures.

Hormonal differences also play a role in the incidence of sports injuries. The hormonal influence of estrogen on bones makes women more susceptible to stress fractures. Women also react differently to exercise than men. For example, women typically need to lift weights for a longer period of time than men to achieve similar results.

By providing gender-based exercise protocols, including strengthening muscles that help to reduce pain, specialists are able to better guide female athletes to a faster recovery and advise them on ways to avoid re-injury.