Women can be more prone to knee injuries
■Workouts can be modified
to help women avoid the pain
of serious ligament damage
By Danielle Gillespie
for the Emerald
In the past three years, Danna
Bubalo, a University sophomore,
has made three trips too many into
the operating room for the same
surgery.
Bubalo first tore her anterior cru
ciate ligament in her left knee as a
senior in high school playing bas
ketball. A year later she blew out
her right knee participating in the
same sport.
As if two surgeries were not
enough, she went on to re-tear the
ligament in her right knee the fol
lowing year.
“If I had known this was going to
happen, I would have lifted
weights more or done more preven
tive exercises,” Bubalo said.
Susan Verscheure, a Ph.D. stu
dent in sports medicine at the Uni
versity, said the best method for
preventing ACL injuries in women
is developing the hamstring mus
cles, which tend to be weaker than
the opposing quadriceps muscles,
causing strain on the ACL.
“The best time to start weight
and exercise programs is probably
in high school and college when
women become more active with
sports and are practicing every
day,” Verscheure said. “Athletes
should not fear getting injured, but
at the same time coaches and peo
ple of all age levels should be aware
of the risk.”
The ACL is located in the knee
joint and attaches to the femur in
the thigh and the tibia in the shin.
An injury occurs to the ACL
when an athlete forcefully twists or
hyperextends the ligament. Any
sport with quick lateral movements
can cause an ACL injury. For exam
ple, an athlete participating in
sports such as basketball, football,
skiing, snowboarding, tennis, soc
cer and volleyball have a higher
susceptibility to knee injury.
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Basic Ste
Debbie
Floor
Aerobics
Wendy
5:00- I Body
500 / Sculpt
I Jamie
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&:50 / Step
Fiorey
Intermed.
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’A maximum
of 30
participants
may enter a
workout
• In order to
enter a
workout, the
participant
must
present both
■ punch
card and
photo ID.
• Classes last
50 minutes.
REGISTRATION begins April 2nd, 102 Esslinger, & a.m.-5 p.m
CLASSES RUN FROM April 9-June &. 2001 (9 weeks)
Rec Sports
Workout Program
has a format to
provide better
service. We have
developed a PUNCH
CARD system! This
will allow you more
flexibility in planning
your fitness
workouts. It also
allows greater
variety.
COST:
10 punch card $20
20 punch card $30
30 punch card $40
Unlimited card $45
Classes meet in Room 41 of the Student Rec Center
For more information call 6-4113 or drop by 102 Esslinger.
When people tear their ACLs,
they do not necessarily need to
have surgery. However, if people
opt against surgery, it could result
in a decrease in activity levels.
Usually, orthopedic surgeons re
pair the ACL with a graft from the
patellar tendon and rehabilitation
takes about six months. ACL tears
have been one of the leading in
juries among women in the past
few years.
According to an article in the
February 2001 edition of “Sports Il
lustrated for Women,” female ath
letes are six times more likely to
suffer from an ACL injury than
males, and 1.4 million women have
suffered from ACL injuries in the
past decade.
Verscheure said scientists have
three leading theories about the
cause of ACL injuries among
women: the effect of a woman’s
menstrual cycle on the joints, hip
to-knee alignment and quadriceps
versus-hamstring ratios.
“None of these theories have
been proven 100 percent and they
are still up for debate, but scientists
hope to provide answers from re
search soon so that they will be able
to give advice on prevention meth
ods,” Verscheure said.
Some scientists believe that the
fluctuations in estrogen during dif
ferent phases of the menstrual cycle
can be a cause of ligament tears.
Scientists have found estrogen in
torn ACL grafts removed from the
knee during surgery and begun re
search in this area. So far, they have
discovered that different estrogen
levels at separate points in a
woman's menstrual cycle change
the laxity in the ligament.
When the ligament has less laxi
ty, it’s at a higher risk of ACL injury
because it is tighter and more prone
to hyperextension.
A woman's knee-to-hip align
ment can be another cause of ACL
tears.
In women, scientists call the an
gle between the hip and the knee
joint the “Q” angle because of its in
ward tilt. This tilt on each side of
the body is formed because a
woman’s hips are wider than her
knees. This results in more pres
sure on the ACL.
Men tend to have narrower hips,
making their knees and hips
aligned in a straight angle, which
provides more stability. Women
also have weaker hamstrings than
quadriceps, which can cause ACL
injuries because the hamstrings de
crease sheer force on the ACT,.
Men tend to have a 1-to-l ratio
between the strength in quadriceps
and the hamstrings. The closer the
ratio between the quadriceps and
hamstrings, the less likely a person
will tear the ACL.
Bubalo said she wishes she
would have been more conscious
of the high susceptibility to ACL
tears in women.
“I think that a lot of women
should be more aware, and coach
es need to change the ways females
work out, because our bodies are
different than males’,” Bubalo said.
Intramural leagues offer fun,
revel ry to students spring term
■The competition level
of intramural sports is less
than more official Duck
teams, and they’re still fun
By Nick Kulmac
for the Emerald
This spring there are no excuses.
It’s time to get up, get outside and
get active. With spring term on the
horizon, the time for blaming win
ter weather for a lack of activity is
past.
The University presents several
different intramural sports that
students can get involved in for
spring. Intramural leagues offered
include softball, soccer, ultimate
Frisbee and four-on-four grass vol
leyball.
Each sport will be divided into
three skill levels, with leagues for
co-ed, women’s and men’s teams.
Each team will play three league
games and take part in a single
elimination tournament to deter
mine a league champion.
Win or lose, being part of a
team can be very beneficial for
students, according to student
employees at the Student Recre
ation and Fitness Center.“Intra
murals offer a positive way of so
cializing with friends without
getting into trouble. Becoming
part of a team is a good way to
make friends, and it’s fun,” said
Faith Mikita, a science major and
recreation center employee.
The league organizers who set
up the intramural activities said
getting involved in intramural
sports is extremely valuable for
students.
Brent Boothby, a law student
and league organizer, said he be
lieves students can benefit from
intramurals in many ways. “Stu
dents can do it for the competi
tion, and it is also a way to re
lieve the stress of schoolwork
while getting outside and enjoy
ing spring weather. It also serves
as another opportunity for stu
dents to play sports after high
school.”
Katy Chenoweth, a volunteer at
the recreational sports office,
agreed. “It’s only as competitive
as you want it to be, and it is
something fun to do with
friends.”
Intramural sports are open to all
University students, faculty, and
staff, as well as Northwest Christ
ian College students.
For more information on intra
mural leagues, call the Recre
ational Sports office at 346-4113,
or visit 102 Esslinger from 8
a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Fri
day.
Spring term
intramural schedule
Softball:
Minimum number of players per
team: 10
Start Date: April 13
League times: Tuesday, Thursday and
Friday at 4,5 and 6 p.m., and Sunday
noonto6p.m»
Fee: $45 per team
&itry deadline: *Lottery
Note: Up to 60 teams can participate.
Games will beseven innings, with
timelimits.
*A manager meeting will be held
Tuesday, April 10, in 102 Essitnger,
where lottery numbers will be picked
to determine scheduling priority.
Soccer;
Minimum number of players per
team: 9
Start Date: April 24
League times: Monday and Wednes
day at 4,5 and 6 p.m., and Sunday 11
a.m.-6p.m.
Fee: $45 per team
Entry deadline: *Lottery
Note: Up to 60 teams can participate.
Games will be composed of two 20
minute periods and held at South
bank Field.
*A manager meeting will be held
Wednesday, April 18, in 102 Esslinger,
where lottery numbers will be picked
to determine scheduling priority.
Ultimate Frisbee:
Minimum number of players per
team: 7
Start Date: April 30
League times: 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Mon
day, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
Fee: $30 per team
Entry deadline: April 26
Note: Up to 30 teams can participate.
Game winners will be decided by the
first team to score 15 points.
Four-on-four grass
volleyball:
Minimum number of players per
team: 4
Start Date: May 2
League times: 4-7 p.m. on Wednes
days.
Fee: $20 per team
Entry deadline: April 27
Notes: Up to 30 teams can partici
pate. Matches a re scheduled on Ger
iinger Field, with rainy-day back-up in
recreation center courts 4 and 5.
League times subject to change.