Class 12 Physical Education Notes Chapter 2 Children and Women in Sports | CBSE Class 12 | Notes

Chapter 2
Children and Women in Sports
Notes

Contents:

● Exercise guidelines at different stages of growth and development
● Common Postural Deformities - Knock Knee; Bow Legs; Flat Foot; Round Shoulders; Lordosis, Kyphosis, and Scoliosis and their corrective measures
●Special consideration (Menarche & Menstrual Dysfunction)
● Female Athletes Triad (Osteoporosis, Amenorrhea, Eating Disorders)

Exercise guidelines at different stages of growth and development

1. Infancy (1 to 2 years) 

• During this stage of growth and development, physical activity or exercise should be encouraged.                       
• Gross motor activities or exercises should be promoted.  
• Exercises to develop head control, sitting, crawling, etc., should be encourage.
• Infants should be provided objects, toys and games that encourage them to move and do things for themselves. 
• Watching TV and other electronic media should be avoided by the infants.      
• They should be encouraged to walk instead of using a stroller to carry them around.    
• Simple exercises like throwing, catching and kicking a ball may be most suitable exercises during the stage of infancy.

2. Early Childhood (3 to 7 years)                                 

• During this stage, such physical activity like throwing, jumping, catching should be encouraged which helps in developing competence in movement skills.                           
• Emphasis should be laid down on participation and not on competition.               
• Activities related to fine motor skills, i.e., coordinative abilities should be emphasised.              
• Creative as well as enjoyable methods should be used to encourage them for participation in various physical activities.            
• Stress should also be laid on clean and safe environment during this stage of growth. 
• They may be allowed to watch quality programmes on TV for one to two hours.         
• Physical activities should be performed daily for at least sixty minutes by children during this stage of growth.

3. Later Childhood (8 to 12 years)                                   

• During this stage, children should indulge in activities such as, stunts, throwing, jumping, etc., so that they can acquire body-control, strength and coordination.       
• Activities related to endurance should be avoided. 
• Stress should also be laid down on organised or team games which aim to develop social consciousness in them. 
• Children should be introduced to competitive sports and taught the basic rules of sports competition, i.e., enjoying the game, fair play, simple strategies and tactics.

4. Adolescence (13 to 19 years)  

• During the stage, moderate to vigorous intensity exercise is recommended for at least 60 minutes and up to several hours every day.
• They should also indulge in muscle strengthening exercises at least three days per week.              
• They should also include bone strengthening exercises. 
• Adolescents or teenagers should reduce sedentary behaviour.                      
• Physical activity or exercise such as running, gymnastics, push-ups, skipping, basketball, swimming, and resistance exercises (weight training) should be included.

5. Adulthood (Above 19 years) 

• Adults should try to be active always.                                   
• They should do brisk walking, bike riding, dancing, and swimming with moderate intensity.          
• They should also indulge in running, aerobic exercises, weight training, push-ups, sit-ups, etc., for muscle strengthening. 
• They should minimise the amount of time spent being sedentary.                          
• Adults require exercises that help to increase their muscular and bone strength. 
• For bone strengthening, they should include running, skipping, and weight training exercises.

Common Postural Deformities:

1. Knock Knee: In this deformity, both the knees-knock or touch each other while in normal standing position. The gap between the ankles goes on increasing. Owing to this deformity, people cannot be good players and may not be selected in defence services. It is also known as Genu Valgum.
   Causes: flat foot, rickets, obesity, carrying heavy weight in early age, lack of vitamin D, calcium and phosphorus.
   Remedies: Horse-riding, Padmasana, Gomukhasana, keeping a pillow between the knees and stand erect, use of walking, intake of cod liver oil.
2. Bow Legs: It is opposite to knock knees. In this deformity remains a wide gap between knees when the feet are kept together. It is also known as Genu Varam.
   Causes: deficiency of vitamin D, calcium and phosphorus, improper way of walking, defaulted footwear, rickets, early childhood, walking with weight, etc.
   Corrective Measures: Yogic asanas like Garud asana, Ardh Chakra asana, intake of proper diet, walking by bending the toes inward.
3. Flat Foot: In this deformity, the arch of the foot collapses with the entire sole of the foot coming into complete or near complete contact with the ground. It is commonly found in newborn babies. It is also known as Pes Planus or Fallen Arches.
   Causes: obesity, weak muscles of foot, poor quality footwears, prolonged standing, etc.
   Corrective measures: walking on sand, writing with foot, jumping on toes, yogic asanas like Tad asana, Vajrasana.
4. Round Shoulders: In this postural deformity, the shoulders become round and sometimes they seem to be bent forward.
   Causes: carrying overloaded school bag by children, wearing tight fitted clothes, weak muscles of chest and shoulder, bad posture while reading or writing over bed or chair, sitting on improper furniture, etc.
   Corrective measures: Chakrasana, Dhanurasana, backward bending, rotating elbows by keeping fingers on shoulders.

5. Lordosis: It is the problem of lumbar region. In this postural deformity the lumbar-spine bends in front beyond the normal level. This is also known as Hollow Back.
   Causes: weak abdomen muscles, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, etc.
   Corrective Measures: sit-ups, toe-touching exercise, stoop walking, Hal asana, Paschimotan asana.
6. Kyphosis: It is an abnormal curvature of spine at front. It causes hump at the back of the body. It is also called round upperback.
   Causes: malnutrition, insufficient exercise, rickets, carrying heavy loads on shoulders, unsuitable furniture, weak muscles, shyness among girls, etc.
   Corrective Measures: Dhanurasan, backward bending, chakrasana, bhujangasana, keeping a pillow under the back while sleeping, etc.
7. Scoliosis: It is the problem of spine in which vertebral column bends to sideward. In this deformity, body weight is shifted to sideward, and it causes lot of pressure on one side of the foot.
   Causes: under-developed legs, differences in leg lengths, rickets, carrying heavy loads on one shoulder, trikon asana, Tad asana, etc.

Special consideration

Menarche

• Menarche is the first period or first menstrual bleeding in females. It is the beginning of menstrual cycle. It is a sign of growing up of girl and becoming a woman.

• It usually occurs approximately at the age of 12; however, it can happen as early as during 8 or 9 years of age or as late as during 16 years of age.

• After the onset of menarche female experiences series of physiological and anatomical changes during puberty.

• During menarche, females can participate in moderate physical activity without complication, whereas heavy trainings should be performed with care of personal cleanliness and hygiene.

• Women with delayed menarche may succeed in sports such as gymnastics.

• Those women who have early menarche have an advantage in sports such as swimming and rowing because they get more adipose tissue or adequate weight.

Menstrual Dysfunction

• Menstrual dysfunction is a disorder or irregularity in women’s menstrual cycle.
• Normal menstrual cycle occurs after every 21 to 35 days. It lasts approximately 3 to 7days.
• During Menstrual Dysfunction most of the women complaint about breast pain, back pain, headache, fatigue, etc.
• Menstrual irregularities seem to be higher in women athletes in comparison to non-athletic women.
• If complication arises due to physical activities female should consult gynecologists.

Female Athletes Triad

Female athlete triad is a syndrome in which osteoporosis, amenorrhoea and eating disorders are included. It is simply known as ‘triad’. If a woman athlete is suffering from any one condition of the triad, it is likely that she may also be suffering from the other two conditions of the triad.

Symptoms of Triads:

• Fatigue
• Frequent injuries
• Loss of endurance and power
• Irritability
• Increased healing time for injuries
• Enhanced chances of fracture
• Cessation of mensuration
• Low self-steem

Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is weakening of bones due to the loss of bone density and improper bone formation. This condition declines the performance and leads to bone injuries.

Factors which usually lead to osteoporosis:

1. Insufficient Calcium in the Diet: The main cause of osteoporosis is the insufficient intake of calcium in the diet. In fact, 100 mg calcium should be included in daily diet by a woman athlete. In addition to calcium, vitamin D should also be included because it is essential for absorbing calcium in our body.
2. Amenorrhea: Women suffering from menstrual dysfunction or amenorrhea for more than six months are likely to face osteoporosis because the secretion of the estrogen is decreased in this condition. This hormone is necessary for the absorption of calcium in our body. If calcium is not absorbed in our body, it may lead to osteoporosis.
3. Eating Disorders: Eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia may also cause osteoporosis because the calcium intake may be less or insufficient.

Amenorrhea

In this menstrual disorder, girls of 18 years and above either never began menstruating or there is an absence of menstruation for three months or more than that in women with a history of normal menstrual cycle.

Types of amenorrhea
There are two types of amenorrhea i.e., primary amenorrhea and secondary amenorrhea.

• Primary Amenorrhea: Primary amenorrhea is characterized by delayed menarche which is the onset of first period during puberty.
• Secondary Amenorrhea: A woman who has her natural menstrual cycle at specific time and then stops menstruating for three months or more is said to have secondary amenorrhea.

Factors which usually lead to Amenorrhea:

• Hormonal Changes: Change in the output of gonadotropic hormones may lead to amenorrhea. This hormone actually plays a vital role in stimulating estrogen release from ovaries. If it does not release estrogen, the menstrual cycle gets disrupted or stops in women causing amenorrhea.
• Intensive Exercises: Athletes like swimmer, runner and gymnasts do intensive exercise or training which usually leads to decrease in estrogen which is mainly responsible to regulate the menstrual cycle in females. This may lead to primary amenorrhea and secondary amenorrhea.
• Intake of less Calories: In fact, intake of insufficient calories can lead to decrease in estrogen hormone which helps to regulate the menstrual cycle. Consequently, menstrual cycle may become irregular or stop altogether.

Eating Disorders 

Most of the girls try to lose their weight as a way to improve their athletic performance. In order to lose weight, they may practice unhealthy weight-control methods, like restricted food intake, self-induced vomiting, consumption of diet pills and use of laxatives.

Types of Eating Disorders 

1. Bulimia Nervosa: It is also an eating disorder in which a female athlete eats excessive amount of food and then vomits it in order not to gain weight.
2. Anonexia Nervosa: In this eating disorder, the female athletes think only about food, dieting and body weight all the time. They have distorted body structure. Other individuals usually feel them that they are becoming thin, but they do not believe this. In front of the mirror, they see themselves as obese.

Treatment of Female Athlete Traid 
The treatment consists of immediate consultation with Doctors or Gynecologists, taking nutritional and balanced diet, reducing excessive exercise, counseling, taking food supplements for vitamins and minerals, behavior therapy, etc.