Women in athletics are more prone to injury, including bone, tendon and ligament damage even in non-contact sports, according to Penn Medicine. They report that the rate of injury for women is slightly higher than the rate for men across several categories. 

In the sport of track and field, injuries such as runner’s knee, stress fractures, shin splints and heel inflammation are all more common with female runners. Sports injury specialists say men and women are built differently. Women tend to have a wider pelvis and smaller, weaker muscles supporting their knees, as well as looser ligaments. 

 Why Its Newsworthy: The female body develops in a way that exposes it to more injuries compared to the male bodies. As time goes on, the impact of these injuries takes a toll on both mental and physical health. 

Grady Newsource Reporter Cecily Stoute introduces you to one University of Georgia track athlete who shows us what it takes to recover from a serious injury and what women can do to avoid them in the first place.

Cecily Stoute is a senior studying journalism within Grady College at the University of Georgia.