Women Mountain Biking - Looking Beyond The Risks

By David Faulkner

The old saw about women being the weaker sex has, in recent decade, come up for debate as increasing numbers of women have begun to excel at many of the sports which were once considered the exclusive provinces of men. Women have even begun to compete in extreme sports, including mountain biking.

There is no anatomical reason why women mountain biking cannot manage the strong pedaling required, and enough of them have now taken up the sport that they are no longer a rarity on the mountain biking trails. But mountain biking, like any sport, can cause long-term health consequences in its participants.

There us a question of whether or not women mountain biking are endangering their reproductive systems. Research has indicated that male mountain bikers significantly increase their risk of scrotal damage overtime; there is good reason to think the women might also be at reproductive risk.

The Risks Of Women Mountain Biking

The studies done on men show that they may experience the growth of either benign or malignant scrotal masses as a result of mountain biking, and those results may imply that women mountain biking can develop assorted reproductive illness. One proven effect of women mountain biking is, in a few instances, hymenal rupture.

Even though there many be negative consequences for their reproductive systems, enormous and increasing number of women mountain biking today is a sign that most women think the benefits of mountain biking outweigh its risks. The strength-building, cardiovascular benefits, heightened reflexes, improved coordination, and tremendous self-confidence which women who mountain bike experience are certainly desirable effects.

And the large number of women mountain biking has had another effect; there are now several women’s groups organized to educate women about the health and safety issues surrounding women’s mountain biking.

One of the organizations in the forefront of promoting healthy women mountain biking is the WOMBATS, or as they are officially named, the Women’s Mountain Biking and Tea Society. The members of WOMBATS all have one thing in common--their love for the adventure of mountain biking. The group accepts women regardless of their age, ethnicity, or culture; the only requirement for admission is that an applicant be an avid mountain biker.

The myth that women are a weak sex is dead, and the reality that women mountain biking is taking the mountain biking world by storm is becoming clearer each day. If you don’t believe it, head for the nearest mountain biking trail, watch the women of all ages and physical stature taking the terrain in their biking stride, and then tell yourself they are the weaker sex.

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