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Anatomical and Physiological Considerations when comparing Male and Female Athletes

*Referenced by Conservative Management of Sports Injuries, 2nd edition; Hyde and Gengenbach

  • Women have smaller hearts than men of the same stature.  The smaller heart means women will have a smaller stroke volume (output of blood from heart) even with a higher heart rate than men.  Women also have 30% less maximal cardiac output than men.
  • Because of a smaller body size on average, a woman has a smaller thorax than a man therefore women have a higher respiratory rate and less total lung capacity than men.  These differences are significant when comparing overall endurance. One study found that women ultramarathon runners have a greater fatigue resistance than equally trained men.  Women also have outperformed men in cold-water endurance challenges. More research is needed to help identify the reasons for women's ability to excel in ultra-endurance events over men.
  • At sexual maturity the average female will be 10% smaller and 25 pounds lighter than the average male. Females will have 8-10% more body fat and a smaller proportion of muscle, resulting in a lesser lean body weight and a smaller total muscle mass.  This is the reason for the different standards set in some sports for women versus men (shorter golfing distance and smaller basketball for example).
  • Female bone is less dense than a man of comparable size therefore a woman will weigh less.  Women are generally shorter and have a lower center of gravity which can be helpful in sports that require strength and balance such as gymnastics. Women have proportionately shorter limbs and a greater average carrying angle at the elbow, which has an effect on the arm is used as a lever.  Arms that do not hang vertically along with an increased shoulder slope create different arm mechanics when throwing. This is typically demonstrated in sidearm throws rather than performing the typical male overhand delivery.
  • Female athletes have more anterior knee laxity and less lower extremity strength than their male counterparts.  Studies have shown that the biomechanics of the hip play a major role in control of the trunk, hip and femur over a planted leg.  The activation of hip muscles increases quadriceps and hamstring muscle activation during exercises or activities such as running and jumping which allows more control over the leg. Female athletes who are involved with jumping and cutting maneuvers in sport have a 4-6 fold increased incidence of knee injury over their male counterparts performing similar maneuvers or sports. One explanation is that male athletes have a 3 fold greater knee extension (straightening of the knee) moment than do female athletes.  Male athletes also tend to use their knee flexor muscles at landing more than female athletes do which affects the biomechanics and shock absorption related to the knee.
  • There are apparently no gender difference in muscle fiber composition however there are differences in muscle fiber size.  Women have more slow twitch fibers which have a higher capacity for aerobic metabolism and thus are better suited for prolonged endurance exercise.  Women athletes appear to have muscle fiber compositions similar to those of men in the same sport, but the cross-sectional area of the fibers remain smaller.
  • Women and men respond to strength training in very similar ways. In general, women have smaller bodies, have less absolute muscle mass, smaller individual muscle fibers and displays approximately two thirds of the absolute overall strength and power of men.  However, unit for unit, female muscle tissue is similar to male muscle mass in force output and there is evidence to support similar, proportional increases for men and women in strength performance and hypertrophy of muscle fibers relative to pre-training status.

male-and-female-lions-resting

We know the male is the King of Beasts...but the female reigns as Queen of the Jungle  :)