Take medicine to avoid sports injuries, suggest scientists after major study

SPort women should take the pill to avoid injury ending their career, suggested the authors of an innovative study.

In the United States, an analysis of more than 165,000 female athletes found that those taking an oral contraceptive were significantly less likely to suffer knee injuries.

The data showed that the apparent protective effect of the drug was particularly powerful among adolescent sportswomen.

The Brown University scientists who conducted the study, which focused on anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, a common and often devastating injury to women, believe that lower and more stable hormonal levels activated by the pill keep the ligament firmer.

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

About one in two women examined for the new research was unable to return to the sporting competition after an ACL tear.

Between 20 and 50% usually develop arthritis within 10 to 20 years following such an injury.

Earlier this year, The Telegraph revealed how professional female footballers are being dropped to fund their own health care for ACL injuries that threaten their careers.

Published in The Physician and Sportsmedicine, this new study compared injury rates among 82,874 women taking oral contraceptives in the 12 months preceding injury, with the same number of women who did not take the pill.

A total of 465 women in the oral contraceptive group required surgical reconstruction of the ACL during the ten years of the study, compared to 569 in the control group.

This means that women taking the pill were, overall, 18% less likely to damage their ACL.

However, female athletes aged 15 to 19 were 63% less likely to be injured.

Dr. Steven DeFroda, Head of Research, said, "Young athletes use oral contraceptives for a variety of reasons, including regulating their menstrual cycle and / or preventing pregnancy.

"With a careful risk assessment, reducing the risk of injury could be another way that female athletes could benefit from their use."

He added, "Oral contraceptives are likely to help keep estrogen and progesterone levels lower and more consistent, which can lead to a periodic increase in laxity and a subsequent risk of tearing."

Experts estimate that about 40% of serious sports injuries involve the knee, with around 20,000 injuries of ACL in the UK each year.