Healthcare is vital to every participant in sports, but especially for women who are constantly undervalued and mistreated in the world of sports. Pushing their bodies to the absolute limit in pursuit of the goal, the time and the win, female athletes work just as hard as their male counterparts, but often don’t receive the same level of care for their physical and mental injuries.

Physiologically, women are more susceptible to injuries such as ankle sprains, knee injuries and stress fractures. Unfortunately, there isn’t a complete understanding of why women get injured so much more than men. This is in part due to physical differences; Higher estrogen levels in females cause less muscle mass to form, leading to easier injuries. Women also change physiologically over the course of their lifetimes, while men remain largely the same after puberty.

These physical differences are only half the equation. Mental health also plays a huge role in athletes’ performance. Sports are inherently competitive, which can be stressful, leading to health issues like depression, anxiety and eating disorders, all of which are more common in female athletes than male. “For me, mental health plays an important role in sports because being stressed about a school assignment or worried about not getting a best time can overwhelm me and just destroy my goal of doing my best and fixing mistakes from the past,” said Miranda Dine (‘25).

At Madison, all athletes that wish to participate in sports are required to fill out the VHSL Physical Form and complete concussion training. The physical form requires the signature of a physician and asks questions about students’ heart health, family history and surgical history, as well as vision and history of eating disorders. The form also has a section specific to females regarding their menstrual period. Madison also has a personal training department (add quotes and go from there.)