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Thanks, Pete, very interesting.
To what extent would you say phenomena such as higher likelihood of stress fractures may be a reflection of currently relatively low participation by women in (elite) sports, i.e. a reflection of the current, uncorrected situation? Might this change significantly if women's participation in sports approached that of men more (and sex stereotypes, e.g. about 'feminine' appearance, became less powerful as deterrents)?
I realise you deal with existing data rather than pie-in-the-sky thinking, but I always wonder to what extent the data may not reflect, and perhaps be skewed by, how things currently stand.
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What's your work?
Oliver Schick
A2theJ
@5115_Pete
For my work, I read tremendous amounts of research on factors affecting performance (endurance focus) in female athletes in particular.
Solid evidence shows female musculature are more fatigue-resistant than men at submaximal contractions with the apparent magnitude declining as the intensity of the contractions increases. Various physiological features contributing from estrogen, activation efficiency, smaller oxygen requirement etc.
However there are female-specific circumstances that need to be considered. I suggest reading about the "female athlete triad" or now "relative energy deficiency in sports" if we consider both sexes. Stress fractures are significantly more common in females too. We can talk about exercise-induced reproductive-system abnormalities, how females have quite significant changes RHR, acidity, knee-joint laxity depending on their cycle. And don't get me started on the pressure from societal expectations of femininity that often don’t conform with the necessities for sport success.
TLDR: women might have an edge in endurance-races from neuromuscular physiology, but their case is immensely more complex than men's.
Not here to solve anyone's problems, just throwing in my 2 cents.