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Is This the Silent Injury Holding Women Athletes Back?

What's going on: When Manchester City learned some of its players were skipping certain warm-up exercises, the club discovered a larger issue, according to The Athletic. Over time, more team members admitted they’d been lifting lighter weights, toning down jumps, drinking less fluids, or making multiple trips to the bathroom pregame. The reason? They wanted to avoid the potential embarrassment of leaking. Not only was this taking a physical toll, but a mental one. In response, one of the most elite soccer clubs in the world is trying to change the conversation on a rarely talked-about muscle group: the pelvic floor. The club teamed up with a physiotherapist to teach players that, like other parts of the body, the pelvic floor can be trained to reduce injury and dysfunction.

Our take: Women soccer players aren’t the only ones navigating pelvic floor issues — they affect athletes across various sports (even men) and are a leading reason why many girls drop out of athletics. While Manchester City takes matters into its own hands with treatment and harm reduction, this raises a larger question: What more could we know if women’s bodies were better studied? It shouldn’t take a wave of injuries or women having to admit they’re embarrassed to warm up for there to be change. Equity in sport isn’t just about equal pay — it’s about equal care, equal research, and equal respect for how women’s bodies move and recover.

Related: Trinity Rodman Suffered Another Injury — and Everyone’s Asking the Same Question (ESPN)