Show ' Z3S Wv - lt in r iMS it ' ‘y' n'W The Herald Journal Logan Utah Thursday April 4 1996 — Page 17 Women’s knees may be too weak for basketball WASHINGTON (AP) — Imbalances in the leg muscles of female athletes may be a key reason that women in sports such as basketball have more knee injuries than men a study says The research was an attempt to determine why female basketball players for instance have eight times the risk of damage to the anterior cruciate ligweb of fibrous tissue that binds the knee ament Repairing an ACL injury may require surgery and weeks of rehabilitation Afterward the joint may still be weaker than it was before the injury The ligament however is only part of the knees’ protection The quadriceps muscles in the front and the hamstrings in the back of the leg also help to hold the joints in place So differences in muscle function between female and male athletes could reduce the protective effect of muscle tension in the women said Dr Edward M Wojtys of the University of Michigan Ann Arbor Wojtys and his colleagues base this on a study of 40 female and 60 male collegiate athletes and of 40 nonathletes used as comparisons The findings were presented recently at the Atlanta meeting of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons The study participants had one leg strapped in a machine that put stress on the leg while letting the knee move The researchers examined how muscle reaction time and muscle strength affected joint movement Women had a greater proportion of their strength in their quads Wojtys said And the greater pull of the muscles in the front may help to pull the knee out of position leading to a rip in the ligament the orthopedic surgeon said The women were slower in their reactions to call on their hamstrings to pull the leg toward the back Wojtys said The women also had less strength and endurance overall in their leg muscles even after adjustment for body weight And the ratio of quadriceps to hamstrings strength also was lower in the female athletes Wojtys said The hamstrings should produce at least half the strength of the quads but the women athletes “were probably in the 40 percent range at best” he said Wojtys docs not know whether the muscle difference reflected differences in women’s and men’s bodies or came from training But he suspected differences in exercise the demands of play or both There has been little research done to determine optimal training for women he said adding: “We fall back on the stuff we used to do for the guys” No study has been done to determine whether women with these muscle differences had a higher rate of ligament injuries than did other women Wojtys said But the relation seems logical he said And if exercise could prevent injury doing things like running backward to strengthen the hamstrings would be a good idea he said Other experts have some doubts however “It makes sense to me but I have heard so many theories” said Mary Ellen Wolf assistant athletic trainer at the University of Richmond Va She thinks women may be more prone to injury because their bones provide less room in which the ligaments can attach she said But the cause may also be exercise differences that start early — “girls arc not encouraged to lift weights the way boys arc’’ she said “We continue to get these little pieces of the puzzle” said Dr Elizabeth Arcndt of the University of Minnesota Wojtys may be right but he has not proved his case she said Arendt previously had reported a higher rate of ACL injuries in women than in men in the same sports But she thinks that the injury rate should not in itself discourage participation When the injury total is viewed against the many thousands of hours that women spend in sports the injury rate is low she said I Investor pushes to legalize most drugs By Media General Newspapers - Billionaire investor George Soros proves that advocates of legalizing drags don’t always come in the form of longhaired 1960s holdovers or liberal intellectuals At the same time federal drag officials fret over an increase in marijuana use by youngsters Soros is bankrolling an office and staff in New S800000-a-yeYork devoted in part to advocating the legalization of drags Soros sees drag use as a human rights issue according to associates ar Billionaire George Soros sees drug use as a human rights issue according to associates off 25 In an interview published two years ago he said the United States needs a more open debate and “more humane policies'’ on drag use An annual report produced by the d Open Society Institute seemed to sum up his view ments at all levels spend billions of dollars to arrest and imprison nonviolent drag law offenders “while treatment and other public health intervention for drag users remain severely underfunded” the Entire stock of Van Heusen dress shirts 3250-395- 0 Enjoy Easter savings on all Van He dress shirts in whites colors stripes and checks rep fabrications in oxforddoth broack and wrinkle-fre- e ' and pinpoint oxford all cotton-ric- h collars blends straight or button-dow- n easy-ca-re Men's Furnishings Soros-funde- report said Governments are prosecuting nonviolent drag users instead of helping them Soros is the Daddy Warbucks of the legalization movement and the feds hate it “1 certainly can think of better ways to use that money" said Lee Brown who stepped down last year as the nation's drag czar Legalization of drags would serve as the “moral equivalent of genocide" on African-Americyoung people especially young men Brown said Attorney General Janet Reno said her opposition to legalization proposals such a an as those explored with Soros' money comes from her experience as a Miami prosecutor “The leverage of prosecution the leverage of the arrest was often what brought people to their senses got them into treatment and got them straightened out” Reno said Soros 65 is a Hungarian-bor- n capitalist who invested his way to a multibil-lion-doll- sr fortune He established himself not only as a Midas of investment but as an international philanthropist As his portfolio grows bv an estimated billion dollars each year Soros million a unloads a projected S300-S40- 0 the around foundations into globe year especially in Eastern Europe and Russia In 1994 Soros pledged $4 million to create the Lindesmith Center The center essentially a private think tank is headed by Ethan Nadelmann a former Harvard professor and a leading spokesman for drag legalization Nadelmann said the center conducts research and tries to broaden the debate on drag policy reform Only a portion of his work focuses on advocating the legalization of drugs and carefully regulating their sale he said The center’s publications examine methods of reducing the harm of illegal drags such as providing clean needles for intravenous users and eliminating mandatory minimum prison sentences for nonviolent drug users “We're trying to reduce the negative consequences of drags by people who use them” Nadelmann said Nadelmann said the billionaire's involvement grew out of a belief that “it’s absurd that we don’t have a broader about the fundamennational debate tals of drag policy and the government absolutely refuses to talk about the failures of its own policies” In addition to the Lindesmith Center Soros has devoted S6 million over three years to the Drag Policy Foundation in Washington That group pursues many of the same goals as the Lindesmith Center but is a mass membership organization that supporters can join s 499 Pro Ked athletic socks Stock up and save on Pro Ked athletic Reg 56-5- 8 socks in three-pai- r packs The perfect Easter baskf stuffers for the active man in your life Reg 4 50 Royal Cup dress socks in five assorted colon 3 pairV599 699 or 2 pairs$i Patterned dress socks Reg 58 Save on an assortment of fashion patterned s from Mountain High Givenchy and Royal Cup inch new styles in neat paisley and geometric patterns 1899-279- 9 Men's pajamas and sleepwear 25 Hell look great Easter morning in Reg S 5 these lightweight spring robes in assorted stripes and fabrics and pajamas in assorted solids and styles sizes prints in coat and pull-ov25-53- er - 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