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"It's no secret that playing competitive sports gives you a leg up\u2014pardon the pun\u2014when it comes to prepping for the \"real world.\" Athletics teach you how to face competition, work in a team environment, confront challenges, and develop people skills. Plus, there's that whole staying-fit-and-strong factor and, oh yeah, it's fun. But as with any intense activity, injury risks are involved\u2014especially, as much as we hate to say it, for girls.\n\nAccording to sports medicine expert Dr. Farah Hameed of New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, the most prevalent athletic injuries are tears in the ACL (or in doctor speak, the anterior cruciate ligament), Runner's Knee (or patellofemoral pain syndrome, also known as PFPS), and stress fractures. Common causes are direct trauma to the area, overuse, and abnormal movement, particularly in sports that require \"cutting and pivoting\" motions like soccer and basketball. Dr. Hameed explains that girls are five times more likely than guys to suffer an ACL tear, and stress fractures are more common in females too.\n\nThere are many reasons girls are more at risk for these type of injuries, but it ultimately comes down to the physical differences brought on by puberty. In particular, an increase in estrogen levels means girls don't build as much muscle as guys, and it also causes ligaments to become lax, which decreases overall stability (but also means girls are at an advantage when it comes to flexibility!). The result? A susceptibility to getting hurt, especially in sports that are played year-round thanks to school and club teams.\n\nSitting on the bench because of an injury isn't ideal, but it's certainly not a total derailment. Sofia, a 17-year-old soccer star in New York, suffered a stress fracture from what she admits was overuse. The high school junior has now signed on to play at the college level (nice!), though she found her healing period to be rough.\n\n\"It sucks to have to stop playing,\" she says. \"I love soccer, so sitting on the bench and watching my teammates was hard. I'd be like, 'Oh, there's something I can do to help out!' during games. Ultimately, it gave me more motivation to get back quickly.\"\n\nLuckily Sofia only took about two weeks to recover, unlike some of her teammates who have suffered more serious ankle and knee injuries and had to endure surgery and longer rehab periods. She considers the situation a learning experience and is now much more vigilant about tending to nascent aches and pains. \"I'll be playing in college, so I want to be sure I'm constantly training and improving,\" she says, adding that her focus is on staying strong to avoid further injuries.\n\nOther tips? Dr. Hameed suggests proper stretching to maintain flexibility (especially for calves, hamstrings, and the IT band to decrease the chance of ACL tears), as well as strengthening programs for quads, hamstrings, and abductors. Changing up your ercises and cross-training is important when it comes to preventing overuse, and you should be buying new running shoes for every 400 miles you put in and making sure you get your daily doses of vitamin D and calcium.\n\n\"Athletes are hard on their bodies and are always pushing themselves to see how far they can go,\" Sofia says. \"But it's worth it to be active, and playing is just so fun.\" We totally agree.\n\nHave you ever gotten a sports injury? Tell us about your experience in the comments."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.teenvogue.com/story/sports-injuries>