Tackling the womens ACL crisis

Kelly Cates is joined by ex-England defenders Fern Whelan and Claire Rafferty, as well as women’s football journalist Jen O’Neill, to discuss the current injury epidemic that’s taken over the women’s game. Doctor Emma Ross joins the pod to explain why ACL injuries are so frequent in women’s football, and how menstrual cycles can influence injury occurrence. We also hear from the Lionesses camp on what the players and coaching staff make of the issue. Finally, the team are joined by Dr. Georgie Bruinvels, who is working with FIFA to combat this issue, and who also explains how she works with players to prevent injuries. Highlight timecodes: 7’24 – Jen O’Neill’s perspective of increased coverage of ACL injuries in the women’s game 9’00 – Dr Emma Ross on why women get more injuries than male players, and the impact of the menstrual cycle on injury occurrence 18’21 – How much does load and increased gametime play? 22’50 – The differences in female foot anatomy, and the lack of available female-engineered football boots on the market 34’22 – Reaction from the Lionesses camp, including Sarina Wiegman on ACL injuries in the sport 45’15 – Jordan Nobbs on wanting more research into the issue 47’10 – Doctor Georgie Bruinvels on limited education on how to train and support female athletes 53’00 – What work the PFA are doing, and what the team would like to see happen going forward