Age of Access to Strength Training Relative to Injury in Sport
Date of Award
Summer 6-28-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Exercise Science
Department
Kinesiology
First Advisor
Sam Krahling
Abstract
This study investigates if there is a correlation between injury rates in male and female athletes and when they start a strength and conditioning program. With girls being more prone to being injured more often than males in sports (Harmer, 2005), there is a need to investigate why there is a discrepancy between males and females. The data from this study, it will be used to spread injury prevention methods that can decrease overall injuries in sports in the female population. The survey-based study will collect data from 200 athletes, both male and female, from various sports and levels of competition. The survey will include questions about the athletes' injury history and the age at which they started a workout program. It would be hypothesized that female athletes had a higher injury rate than male athletes, and they tended to start strength and conditioning programs at a later age than their male counterparts. Moreover, the study may find a positive correlation between starting a strength and conditioning program at a younger age and a lower risk of injury in female athletes. These findings would suggest that promoting strength and conditioning programs to female athletes at a younger age could potentially reduce injury risk in female athletes and increase public awareness of injury prevention in all athletes. However, if there is no correlation between injury and strength and conditioning programming, the study will show that both male and female athletes have a similar injury risk with and without strength and conditioning exercises. Overall, this study could highlight the importance of strength and conditioning programs in reducing injury risk in athletes and the need for continued research in this area.