Resources in women's game may impact ACL injuries, says Rachel Corsie
- Published
Arsenal's Beth Mead is currently recovering from an ACL injury
Scotland captain Rachel Corsie suggests fewer resources available to women may make them more susceptible to anterior cruciate ligament injuries.
Female players are estimated to be around six times more likely to sustain ACL injuries, as Corsie did earlier in her career.
Arsenal's Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema are currently in recovery.
Corsie says the greater resources available to men "of course" make a difference in safeguarding players.
"My day-to-day compared to [Scotland men's player] John McGinn's day-to-day," she explained.
"How that looks in terms of what we do is the same. Our schedule will look the same. Our week will be the same in terms of the load we do.
"The resources he has access to - nutrition, sports science, recovery tools, members of staff per play - are totally different to how it is for us.
"That's not complaining. When you break it down, then obviously our bodies are going to feel the weight of that. The additional strain that that puts on your body is so significant."
Scotland women's lead physiotherapist Jenny Graham joined Corsie and Crichton on the BBC's Behind the Goals podcast to discuss the issue.
"People in America have looked at how our dynamics of the knee are different, we've got smaller ACLs, we've got a smaller femoral notch of where the ACL goes into," said Graham.
"We generally have a bit more laxity in our joints as well and that can change within the monthly cycle as well, as our oestrogen levels go up and down throughout the cycle.
"And we've generally got a bigger imbalance between our quads and hamstring ratios as well and that hamstring strength is really important because the ACL what it does is it stops your shin going forwards, if that makes sense, and rotates and your hamstring can pull that back a bit where the hamstring attaches. So that strength in the hamstring is really important.
"Other things with women, we generally land flat footed as well, studies have shown. The shock goes up through the knee, the impact goes through the knee, so that's another reason you could be more likely to injure it."
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Crichton stressed the important of female players being given the option to manage their fitness.
"You've got to feel enabled and empowered to say to your coach, 'listen, I don't feel like training today'," said Crichton.
"There have been so many days over my career that I can remember red flagging it and nobody listened. That's concerning.
"I would like to think that that's something that has changed. Awareness has changed around menstrual cycles in football."