Are girls more at risk of sporting injury from overtraining?
A new book about American high school sportswomen claims there is evidence that young women’s bodies may be more susceptible to some types of injury than males, when undertaking intense training. But does focusing on physiological difference run the risk of making girls think they are too ‘delicate’ for sport? The author Michael Sokolove joins Jane to present his theory, and Elizabeth Pike, sociologist of sports at the University of Chichester, explains why the UK culture of youth sports means the issues challenging teenage girls over here are very different. And the champion athlete Liz McColgan describes how injury affected her sporting career.
Warrior Girls: Protecting Our Daughters Against the Injury Epidemic in Women’s Sports, by Michael Sokolove, is published by Simon and Schuster, ISBN: 978-07432-9755-4
