Background: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries have become commonplace among female athletes in today’s society. With more than 70% of injuries resulting from noncontact mechanisms such as jump landing, the relationship between fatigue and altered movements patterns has become an important topic of research. Purpose: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of residual fatigue on lower extremity kinematics and vertical leg stiffness at landing as experienced by female athletes. Method: The participants in this study were 12 NCAA female intercollegiate soccer players. Participants completed five single-leg drop jumps on their dominant leg every day for 4 days. The first day was completed without intervention to obtain pre-fatigue data and drop jumps on days two through four were completed after a fatigue protocol. Results: A repeated measures MANOVA did not reveal significant differences in post-fatigue peak knee flexion angle, vertical ground reaction forces, or vertical leg stiffness. Despite lack of statistical significance, vertical leg stiffness was increased during post-fatigue testing when compared to pre-fatigue values. Implications: The increased vertical leg stiffness may indicate altered landing techniques in post-fatigue states. If fatigue results in compromised movement patterns, it may explain the increased number of ACL injuries during the end of soccer matches. Suggestions for Future Research: Future research with a larger sample size should include post-fatigue dominant and nondominant leg comparison due to previous conflicting findings regarding which limb is most often injured. Future researchers should also quantify the magnitude of fatigue induced by the fatiguing protocol to document the strength of the independent variable. / text

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) originates from posterior part of the medial side of the lateral condyle of femur to anterior intercondylar notch between a transverse meniscal ligament and medial side of medial meniscus of tibia. Once ACL is disrupted, pain, effusion and atrophy are commonly observable and cause functional disability. Because of the functional limitations, athletic participation is severely restricted. ACL injury is more prevalent in physically active females compared to their male counterparts in the sports of basketball and soccer in high school and collegiate levels. Several attributes of females are considered risk factors for the higher ACL injury incidences and include: anatomy, physiology and neuromuscular/biomechanics. Among them, neuromuscular/biomechanics is the only modifiable risk factor. Performing neuromuscular training may change muscular strength profiles, which may lead to reduction in ACL injury incidence in female athletes. However, this principle was not fully examined. Also, neuromuscular compliance may play a role in muscular strength development and ACL injury incidences. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the effects of neuromuscular training compliance on muscular strength development and ACL injury incidence. The influence of hip abductor, hamstrings and quadriceps strength was examined in this project. The results of these studies indicate neuromuscular training is an effective intervention to reduce ACL injury incidence in female athletes, and there is an inverse dose-response relationship between compliance of the neuromuscular training and number of ACL incidences in female athletes. The effect of compliance on muscular strength development was inconsistent. The results of these studies support that compliance of neuromuscular training is a key to reduce ACL injury incidences; however, more studies are need to conclude neuromuscular training compliance effects on muscular strength development in female athletes.

The main reasons behind women's participation in sport have been identified as team membership, cooperation and friendship. This is seen in contrast to competition, status and possible career opportunities found in relation to men's participation in sport. Research also suggests that participation in physical activity and sport increases women's sense of well- being and acceptance of body size and shape. This thesis set out to explore the sporting experiences of women within rugby, cricket and netball. The first aim of the research was to investigate the participation motivation of women within three sports that differ in their levels of acceptability and required physical contact. The second and third aims were to examine how that participation might affect the development of self-esteem and body satisfaction. The fmal aim of the thesis addressed the issue of sporting identity development through exploring how participants in physical/non-physical, 'feminine'/'masculine' sports reflect on their sporting experiences. In addition the thesis considered how distinct parts of sporting participation such as clothing, team dynamics, physical contact and perceptions of sexuality synthesise to form the sporting identity of women rugby players, cricketers and netballers. The research was based on Constructivist/Interpretivist principles and combined both quantitative and qualitative methods. Initially, three questionnaires were used to assess participation motives (Participation Motivation Questionnaire), body image (Multi dimensional Body Self-Relations Questionnaire) and self-esteem (Multidimensional Self-Esteem Inventory). The questionnaires were sent to rugby players, cricketers and netballers through their organising bodies. Following the questionnaire stage of the thesis, 30 interviews were conducted to further explore the relationship between participation in sport, perceptions of femininity and the function the body took in developing body satisfaction. Key to the investigation was how sport participation impacted on identity development and the strategies used to maintain that image. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyse the interview accounts, focusing on the meanings given to sport by the individuals themselves. Social constructionism was used as a framework for interpreting the data. This produced a rich account of sporting experience highlighting how body satisfaction and perceptions of femininity are constructed and reconstructed by sportswomen. Findings from the questionnaires indicated that all sports rated team membership as the most important reason to participate in sport. Key fmdings demonstrated that satisfaction with physical appearance was strongly related to body areas satisfaction and global self-esteem for all sports. There was also no difference between sports on perceptions of physical attractiveness and all sports demonstrated significant relationships between satisfaction with physical appearance and body functioning. Following Stage One of the research process an interview schedule was developed that combined the key fmdings from each questionnaire and questions raised from the literature. The main findings from Stage Two highlighted how important sport is to these women, indicating a variety of techniques used to sustain an athletic image. It was also found that perceptions of femininity focused on the association of physical activity and sexuality. The assumption being that regardless of sport choice women were perceived as lesbian. Other key findings highlighted the transiency of body satisfaction. This refers to increases in body satisfaction through playing sport not being sustained once the athlete has transferred herself to a social context. Other findings relate to the use of the body in sport and the enjoyment of overpowering an opponent. School experiences of sport are identified as key to the development of gender stereotypes and why being regarded as a 'sporty' person is so important. The research on which this thesis is based suggests that sport comes to play an integral part in these women's lives and an activity that guided overall identity development. The thesis also highlights the transiency of body satisfaction and the inevitability of the lesbian stereotype due to participation in sport. The social constructionist interpretation of the data suggests how the shared vocabularies of body idioms that individuals embrace and use to judge other people determine the way in which we value physical behaviours and define physical attractiveness. The respondents demonstrated that regardless of prejudice and poor funding they still want to and enjoy the experience of sport participation. Potential research opportunities are also identified.

AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF Khalilah Doss, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Educational Administration and Higher Education, presented on March 30th 2016, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: READY, SET, GO: A NARRATIVE STUDY ON JAMAICAN FEMALE TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETES WHO ATTENDED COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY IN THE U.S. MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Saran Donahoo At most institutions, track and field can function as the redheaded stepchild of athletic programs because these sports do not draw the revenue nor get the crowds often associated with college football or basketball. Nevertheless, there are multiple correlations common among all college student athletes. Primarily, all student athletes face the pressure of having both academic and athletic responsibilities and obligations. Concurrently, there are also differences that can make these athletes experiences unique, such as being from a different country or being of minority status (by gender, sexual orientation or color) and attending a predominately white institution. As a former college athlete, I want to identify and determine how Jamaican Female Track and Field Athletes negotiate the social, academic and cultural environments that they were a part of while attending a college or university in the U.S. I believe that some [if not all] of these female athletes struggle academically, socially, and personally while attending postsecondary institutions in the U.S.

The focus of this study is injured female netball players‟ motivation when they return to their sport from serious injuries. The purpose of the study is to provide a rich description of the motivation which allows these players to return to their sport and continue in their chosen field. Motivation is a vital component in injury rehabilitation, as it provides the drive that allows rehabilitation to occur. Two theories of motivation are examined in this study, namely the achievement goal theory of motivation and the theory of intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and amotivation. These theories highlight the argument that motivation occupies a continuum between being internally or externally determined. A qualitative phenomenological perspective was used to investigate the motivation of injured netball players. This made it possible to explore individual players‟ experiences of their injury. A semi-structured interview was conducted with each player to allow each player‟s experiences to be heard. The interviews were then transcribed. Thematic content analysis of the transcribed interviews revealed two main themes: the inevitable return and identity. The analysis showed that, for these netball players, their motivation to return to playing netball was based on an internal drive to regain an inherent part of their identity. Copyright / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Psychology / unrestricted

Abstract available in the Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise

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The purposes of the study were (1) to determine if differences exist between the self concepts of female intercollegiate starting and substitute athletes and between members of team and individual sports and (2) to determine if a significant relationship exists between coaches' ratings of an athlete and the athletes' self concepts. Subjects were forty-five college women who met the established criteria. The testing instrument was the Tennessee Self Concept Scale. Data were analyzed by the two-way analysis of variance method and the Spearman Rank Order Correlation. Alpha was .05. Conclusions of the investigation were that (1) the self concepts of athletes in basketball, softball, volleyball, tennis, and badminton are not significantly different, and (2) the coaches' ratings of athletes and athletes' self concept ratings are not significantly related.

The purpose of this study was to compare the torque generating capabilities and fatigue responses of female power athletes, female endurance athletes, and age-matched female non-athletic controls.