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Treating And Preventing Injuries In Female Athletes

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Boston College's Chelsea Regan, right, pulls on Stanford's Christen Press (23) during the semifinals of the NCAA Women's College Cup soccer tournament  in Cary, N.C., Friday, Dec. 3, 2010. Stanford won 2-0 over Boston College. (AP Photo/Sara D. Davis)
Boston College's Chelsea Regan, right, pulls on Stanford's Christen Press (23) during the semifinals of the NCAA Women's College Cup soccer tournament in Cary, N.C., Friday, Dec. 3, 2010. Stanford won 2-0 over Boston College. (AP Photo/Sara D. Davis)

Title Nine, the landmark 1972 federal law mandating equal opportunity in sports, has helped to shape several generations of young female athletes. But an unavoidable cost has been the spike in sports-related injuries for girls.

In fact, research shows that in sports where contact is the same, female athletes have roughly twice as many concussions, and are up to 8 times more at risk of an ACL injury, than their male counterparts — in part due to their build and hormonal structures.

Now Boston Children's Hospital has created a new "Female Athlete Program" with an aim to treat and prevent injury in girls and young women.

Guests

Carey Goldberg, co-host of WBUR’s CommonHealth blog.

Ralph Ranalli, President of Newton Girls Soccer, who is working on an injury-prevention coaching project with the Boston Breakers.

This segment aired on April 9, 2013.

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