October 29, 2025, 7:03 pm | Read time: 6 minutes
For evolutionary reasons, women have wider pelvises than men to enable childbirth. This affects the so-called Q-angle, which has a special significance in sports. It influences the risk of injuries, such as ACL tears. Additionally, experts believe it makes sense for women to train differently from men. FITBOOK explains the Q-angle and how it should be considered in women’s training plans.
The Q-angle (quadriceps angle) is the angle between the thigh muscle and the patellar tendon. It is measured as the angle between two lines: from the anterior superior iliac spine (outer pelvic bone) to the center of the kneecap and from the center of the kneecap to the tibial tuberosity. The angle depends on the size and shape of the pelvis. A larger angle means a greater pulling force of the thigh, which pulls the kneecap outward. The forces acting on the knee during movements are stronger when the Q-angle is larger. Women’s pelvises are naturally wider, so their Q-angle is larger, ranging from 15 to 18 degrees, compared to men’s 12 to 15 degrees.1
Changes in the Q-angle During Puberty
In childhood, there are individual differences in body structure, but they become gender-specific only with the onset of puberty. In boys, sex hormones lead to defined muscles and increased speed and aggression. In girls, sex hormones cause more significant changes. Their pelvis widens, increasing the quadriceps angle. “The center of gravity shifts from the chest down to the lower abdomen as their hips widen. The shoulders also broaden, changing the angle of the knees relative to the hips,” explained U.S. sports physiologist and nutritionist Dr. Stacy Sims in a podcast.
Do Changes During Puberty Make Young Women Less Athletic?
According to the expert, these changes are reflected in movement patterns and athletic performance in young women. The problem: Teenagers—and likely their coaches—may not understand these changes, leading to performance declines.
Many Girls Quit Sports During Their Teenage Years
“More than 60 percent of 14-year-old girls who were previously athletic quit sports because they are not informed about the changes in their bodies,” said Dr. Sims. “These changes make girls feel uncomfortable running, jumping, landing, or swimming.” Movements suddenly feel different than before. The reason is the change in the Q-angle, according to the scientist. “The Q-angle is different; they develop quadriceps dominance (the thigh muscles do most of the work in leg-focused movements), their center of gravity is different, and their shoulders are broader. This changes their entire running mechanism, for example.” The running technique perfected as a child often no longer works for girls after puberty. Due to a lack of education and training adjustments, this often leads to girls performing less well than before, getting injured more often, and losing enjoyment and motivation.
How Sports Change for Girls Compared to Boys
“Eight-year-old girls can keep up with boys of the same age in running, playing soccer, etc. Differences become noticeable in 10- to 12-year-olds. Boys start to become more aggressive, run faster, and kick the ball harder. Girls gradually develop more body fat, don’t enjoy running as much, and struggle to hang on fitness bars because their center of gravity begins to shift,” explains the expert. Changes in the brain also occur: Girls develop greater self-awareness during puberty. They become concerned with how others perceive them. As a result, they tend to become more cautious and withdraw rather than push forward and try new things. All of this leads to girls or young women withdrawing from sports more than boys or young men—statistically, they become less athletic.
The Incredibly Effective Ab Exercise Men Should Also Do
What Box Jumps Train and How to Do Them Correctly
Caution–Risk of Injury
The Q-angle also affects the risk of injury. Men’s legs run relatively straight from the pelvis to the knees. This means that forces acting on joints like ankles and knees—such as during explosive movements like jumps or sudden direction changes in soccer—are distributed more evenly. The larger Q-angle in women causes a slight knock-knee position, making their knees more likely to buckle during movements because the pulling force of the thigh is stronger on the knee. As a result, the point force on the knee is greater. This different knee stress compared to men is why women are more prone to ACL tears or meniscus tears. Their ankles are also more susceptible to injuries.
Adapting Training to the Q-angle
Because a smaller Q-angle, like that of men, is generally associated with greater stability of the pelvis and knee, it is advantageous in training for explosive and speed strength. Men can approach jumps, agile direction changes, or explosive sprints with less concern about injuries. Since their body structure doesn’t change much during puberty, they can mostly stick to proven strategies from childhood. They need to adapt their training more to new skills, increased strength in adulthood, or later to age-related changes and risks.
Train Strength and Technique
Girls and women undergo greater physical changes during puberty. Therefore, it seems sensible to adapt training to the new conditions—both to prevent injuries and to fully exploit their performance potential.
During the teenage years, it becomes important to introduce girls to strength training and teach them the techniques of exercises central to their core and upper body. These include squats and lunges, among others.2 According to a study, this currently seems to be more common in boys’ training and less so in girls’.3
Dr. Sims also advises that due to the Q-angle and quadriceps dominance, girls and women should engage in strength training. The training helps strengthen weak points. Since quadriceps dominance leads to women having generally weaker muscles in their lower body posterior, she recommends training this body region. Ideally, this includes the glutes, hamstrings, and calves. She also emphasizes training lateral movements, focusing on the muscles involved. Women should strengthen these as well, according to her recommendation.
Strengthen Core and Hips
To stabilize the entire lower body, core and pelvic training are also beneficial. This is increasingly being applied in women’s soccer. Functional strength training to strengthen these body regions is becoming part of the training for many professional female athletes.4
Example exercises for the abdomen:
- Glute Bridge
- Single-leg Glute Bridge
- Glute Bridge on Exercise Ball
- Wood-Chop Exercise
Example exercises for the legs and hips include:
- Squats with Band
- Single-leg exercises such as squats
- Plyometric exercises (jump and explosive strength), such as jump squats, box jumps, or lunge jumps
- Plyometric exercises on one leg