Go on the pill to avoid sports injury, scientists suggest after major study

Sportswomen should go on the pill to avoid career-ending injuries, the authors of a groundbreaking study have suggested.

Analysis of more than 165,000 female athletes in the US found those taking the oral contraceptive were significantly less likely to suffer knee injuries.

The apparent protective effect of the drug was particularly potent in teenage sportswomen, the data showed.

The Brown University scientists who conducted the study, which focused on anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, a common and often devastating injury for women, believe lower and more stable hormone levels enabled by the pill keeps the ligament firmer.

Women are eight to ten times more likely to suffer ACL complaints compared to men, for a combination of hormonal and physiological reasons.

Approximately one in two women examined for the new research were unable to return to athletic competition following an ACL tear.

Meanwhile between 20 and 50 per cent commonly develop arthritis within 10 to 20 years of such an injury.


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2019/05/02/go-pill-avoid-sports-injury-scientists-suggest-major-study/