Medicine and technology advancements allow women to participate in sports and perform exceptionally well in activities that used to be reserved only for men. Just a few decades ago, female anatomy restricted women from certain sports that require high levels of strength, fitness and endurance. Their much gentler build and certain hormonal composition led women to believe that they can’t participate in physically demanding tasks leaving them for men to perform.
Luckily, the situation is changing drastically in recent years. Thanks to new findings, scientists today rush to emphasize that men and women can be offered the same treatment when it comes to professional athleticism. Plus, female emancipation is slowly leading women to a place of greater independence and empowerment.
New life circumstances are giving women newfound mental and physical strength to compete with men, but medicine also helps women deal with their biological and health obstacles that used to prevent them from reaching excellent sports performance. Recently, women made remarkable progress when it comes to sports! So, here’s all the ways medicine affected and improved female sports life.
Nutritional medicine
The development of medicine made a big impact on nutrition, especially when it comes to female professional athletes. It’s very clear that our performance greatly depends on our dietary habits and by carefully planning meals and combining the right foods, we can push our progress in the right direction. Proper diet affects everything from controlled weight loss and weight gain to energy levels and health problem management.
Before, women athletes used to take their diet for granted which resulted in weight problems, energy shortage and even eating disorders (which are more prevalent in women athletes). Luckily, media today is really focusing on unhealthy role models and the effect they have on women’s health and happiness. At the same time, healthy eating habits, counseling and exercise are also gaining the attention they deserve, and women recognized that.
Now, we can find all sorts of expert advice on healthy ingredients, better cooking techniques, proper eating schedules and amazing results that come from healthy eating. Nutritionists are also concentrating on women’s needs and learning about dietary requirements of female pro athletes which can encourage new generations of both athletes and nutritionists to pursue their careers in these two fields.
Plastic surgery
In the past, many women had to leave their dream of becoming athletes behind due to certain body issues. For instance, women with larger breasts tend to experience bad posture, severe back pain, excess sweating, skin rashes and other health issues that prevented them from taking part in sports. Luckily, with plastic surgery moving forward and getting more accepted, women with these sorts of problems can easily solve them and get back to training. Today, breast reduction is fairly simple procedure doctors perform almost daily. With new technologies and techniques, women can expect not only better but also faster results that allow them to bounce back from recovery quickly and efficiently.
General medicine
A few decades ago, children, both male and female, were advised to avoid sports if they got diagnosed with a chronic disease. However, thanks to medicine, things are changing and chronic diseases can often be kept under control using therapy. With a combination of medication, physiotherapy and diet, many famous female athletes managed to achieve amazing results while living with chronic disease.
It’s also easier than ever for women to get good information on necessary supplementation in the form of vitamins and minerals. While steroids and other supplementation aren’t healthy, ethical or truly beneficial, proper counseling on vitamins and minerals can help female athletes stay healthy, strong and fit to achieve better results. Women athletes are also generally more likely to have inadequate calcium and vitamin D intake which can cause health, mobility and energy issues. Now that medicine provided us with that knowledge, women can properly adjust their vitamin and mineral intake and improve their performance and overall health.
Sports medicine
Additionally, sports medicine that deals with injuries has also advanced, especially when it comes to dealing and understanding female athletes. Some injuries like an ankle sprain, shoulder troubles and knee injuries are more common in women than men due to higher estrogen levels, greater flexibility of ligaments, less powerful muscles and different bone structure (wider pelvis, narrower space within the knee) Women also tend to move differently which can result in more frequent injuries. So, understanding how to deal with that fact can help women athletes stay safer and practice their passions without the fear of injury.
Even though the girls are encouraged more than ever before to take part in all sports equally, they still fall far behind boys when it comes to participation in sports, especially between the age of 6 and 18. Some still believe that certain sports are reserved just for men which can discourage girls from trying them out. Luckily, with medicine on our side, things are changing rapidly and soon we can expect better equality and better opportunities for women to pursue sports professionally.
