Why Some Women Should Not Run: Increased Q Angle and Increased Body Mass

Save Your Body

This article may cause some controversy for many runners, especially female casual recreational runners. Let me first start off by saying I run, I run a lot, but I have the body and ability to run long distances, while most females do not, and you will see why in this article.

When you think about jogging you usually think of it as a good form of exercise for most people, but there is a group of people that should reconsider jogging or running as a form of exercise. This group of athletes or exercisers is a majority of females. Before all female runners get bent out of shape over my recent comment, just keep reading and listen to my explanation first. First off, not all female runners should stop.

Female elite runners and competitive recreational runners that run like males and that have the runners body can and should continue to run. What this means is normally two things, narrower hips and smaller breasts. Women with big hips and breasts just do not make good runners, it all boils down to anatomy and physics. The biggest problem is what is called the Q angle of the female body that many physical therapists and sports medicine specialists refer to. The wider the hips, the narrower the knees are and this angle from hip to knee creates numerous of problems for females.

Just ask any female athlete that has had any knee problems. Her Q angle will cause her to develop foot problems or most likely knee problems with all the impact and steps she takes while running. Her greater body weight causes greater ground reaction forces. Greater ground reaction forces stress muscle tissue and breast tissue. Whether you want to believe it or not, endurance sports usually cause overuse injuries, and with most endurance athletes thinking that more-is-better, this leads to more and more stress placed on the body. Since females usually carry more mass, this too leads to more stress and injuries.