According to a new study led by scholars at the University of Oregon, differences in men’s and women’s muscle tissue may explain why some sports injuries, such as tendon and ligament tears, are more common in women, while others, such as muscle strains, are more common in men.
The research team recruited a sample of men and women who were of similar age and activity level to participate in their study. The women participants were all either on hormonal birth control medication or in the follicular phase of their menstrual cycle when estrogen levels are low. All participants were asked to perform the same exercise that fatigued only one leg. Once the participant was too fatigued to continue the exercise, the research team collected a muscle biopsy from each leg to compare differences in tissue from a tired muscle compared to a relaxed muscle. Among male participants, muscle fibers were consistently less stiff, but there was no consistent pattern detected among women participants, some of whom had stiffer muscle fibers after exercising.
In future studies, the authors plan to work with larger sample sizes and examine how variations in estrogen levels affect women’s muscle fibers. Further research could shed light on how men and women athletes sustain injuries and how they can best avoid them.