A new study published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery revealed that female players are more prone to get knee injuries in sports like football and also showcased the reason behind the same.

The study lead by U.S. researchers discovered that there is a difference between the posture of men and women while kicking the ball. This is due to the distinct knee alignment and muscle activation possessed by males and females, so women players have twice the risk of men getting an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

The research involved 13 male and 12 female college soccer players. The differences were noted during their kicking a soccer ball by using 3-D video-based motion analysis and electromyography. A crew of researchers including orthopedic surgeon Robert Brophy of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri and his colleagues from the Motion Analysis Laboratory and Sports Medicine Service at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York analyzed the process.

It was found that the activation of hip flexors and the hip abductors, while kicking a ball was more in male players than in the female counterparts. Also, male players stretched gluteus medius and vastus medialis muscles twice more than the female players.

The difference in the activation of the hip abductors, which shields players against injury, is the major cause of more injuries in women players.