By <\/span>Dr. Eddie Craghill, Women\u2019s Team Support Doctor at Manchester United<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Women\u2019s football has been growing in popularity in the UK over the past decade. It is exciting to see women\u2019s football inspire\u00a0 new generations when it comes to sporting participation, performance and equality.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n At Manchester United, the Women\u2019s Professional Football team was introduced in 2018, winning the FA Women\u2019s Championship in the inaugural season. They now compete in the FA Women\u2019s Super League, a top tier of women\u2019s football. But behind the scenes there is also a commitment to expand female sports exercise knowledge and to gain greater awareness about gender nuances to support the rise of our female players.<\/span><\/p>\n Understanding & exploring gender differences in football injuries<\/b><\/p>\n One of the key known areas of difference between the male and female footballer is the nature of injury. For example, two to ten times more females than males are likely to experience an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.. ACL injuries happen suddenly and without warning. They can result in athletes being out of the game for 9-12 months. These injuries are common in football due to the frequent and instant deceleration on the pitch from cutting, pivoting or landing on one leg.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n By using ultrasound, CT or MRI, we can see the extent of commonly occurring or unique injuries on-site within our dedicated Medical Imaging Centre provided by Canon Medical Systems UK* at the Manchester United Carrington Training Centre, without any of the confidentiality issues of transferring a patient to a local hospital.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Dedicated Medical Imaging Centre with Canon Medical Systems UK systems at the Manchester United Carrington Training Centre<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n The known predisposition in female football players has no singular cause, but is thought to be a mixture of anatomical differences. These include;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The risk of re-tearing a previously healed ACL is also higher. Therefore, to safeguard our players\u2019 ongoing ligament health, and to avoid further time off the pitch, we would increase the frequency of ultrasound or MRI examinations on that individual. Furthermore, the amount of known research in this area means that we can be preventative at the outset with all our female players.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Canon Medical Vantage Galan 3T MRI acquired Axial PD Fat Suppressed\u00a0image of <\/span><\/i>the right ankle demonstrating a grade 1\/2 tear of the anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL).<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Another area of injury prevention and monitoring is concussion. Again, a lot has been written about the long-term effects of head injuries through head contact in football in male players, particularly its links with memory loss and Alzheimer\u2019s Disease. So, practical exploratory work in a sports setting into diagnosing and monitoring for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) using diagnostic imaging in our female players is a real focus, alongside our men.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There is a need for more research in this area which we are very fortunate to be able to do within our imaging suite using AI-assisted CT and MRI technologies. A greater understanding through focused research would play a part in establishing concussion treatment protocols for clubs and the FA which would be of immense benefit to all.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Coronal PD Fat Saturated image <\/span><\/i>of the right knee showing an acute pivot shift injury with an acute lateral condylar bony contusion, which is highly indicative of an associated <\/span><\/i>anterior cruciate ligament<\/span> (ACL) tear acquired using Canon Medical Vantage Galan 3T MRI. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n The value of dedicated research work in female sport<\/b><\/p>\n An ACL injury is a key example of how concentrated research and knowledge development over the years has enabled a greater understanding of how to avoid and monitor such injuries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/files\/2022\/08\/image-1-300x164.jpg\")
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