She Used to Love Sport… So Why Has She Suddenly Stopped?

I have two daughters in this age group, 15 and 12, so this is a topic that matters to me both personally and professionally.

I was also a teenager who was very aware of exercise and how good it made me feel, and probably how it made me look too - I was brought up in the 80s after all.

Now, as a mum, what matters to me most is keeping my girls active because I can see how much of a positive effect movement has on mental health, physical health and menstrual health.

One of my daughters is entering her first serious exam year and I can already see how useful it is to break up long periods of study with a walk, a bike ride or a weights class.

It changes her mood. It gives her a break.

It seems to help clear her head.

And perhaps more importantly, it reminds her that her body is something that can help her through stressful periods of life rather than something she needs to fight against or feel frustrated with.

Professionally, I want exactly the same thing for the girls and women I work with.

I want women to stay active throughout their lives.

I want them to have a positive relationship with their bodies and to understand what their bodies are capable of.

And I think a lot of that starts much earlier than we perhaps realise.

When a girl who loved sport suddenly stops

I don't actually see huge numbers of teenage girls in clinic.

But what I do see are grown women trying to get back into sport or exercise after having stopped in their teenage years and sometimes that gap has lasted years.

And it makes me wonder what happened at the point they stopped.

Did sport become less enjoyable?

Did their body start to feel different?

Did running suddenly feel harder?

Did periods begin to interfere with training?

Did they start to feel self-conscious?

Did they decide they simply weren't "sporty"?

Or did they feel like everyone else was getting better while they were somehow getting worse?

We can be very quick to assume that girls simply "lose interest" in sport as they get older.

Sometimes that will be true - but sometimes there is more going on.

Why sport can suddenly feel different during adolescence

Adolescence brings a lot of physical change and sometimes we don't explain those changes well enough.

A girl's body shape changes.

Her hips may widen.

Her strength and coordination may feel different.

She may be dealing with periods, fatigue, discomfort or simply feeling less confident in a body that suddenly feels unfamiliar.

Running is a good example. As the pelvis changes shape and the hips widen, the angle between the hip and knee can change too. This can alter the mechanics of running and sometimes make it feel less comfortable or less efficient for a time.

If nobody explains that, it is very easy for a girl to think: "I'm just not good at this anymore." And then she stops.

If she understood that her body was changing and adapting, rather than that she had suddenly become bad at running, she may carry a lot less blame.

And perhaps she would be more likely to persevere.

Periods shouldn't automatically mean sitting out

Another thing I hear about through my daughters and their friends is girls choosing not to take part in sport or exercise because they have their period that day.

I don't want to dismiss how somebody feels during their period. There will absolutely be days when someone feels particularly unwell, exhausted or has very heavy bleeding and needs to listen to their body.

But I also don't want girls growing up believing that having a period automatically means they need to stop moving.

I encourage my own daughter to keep going where she feels able to.

Sometimes that might mean doing exactly what she had planned. Sometimes it might mean doing less. Sometimes it might mean changing what she does completely.

The important thing is that we don't make "stop" the only option.

Exercise doesn't always need to mean pushing hard.

It can be a walk.

A gentle bike ride. A lighter weights session. Swimming. Stretching. Movement can be steady and restorative too.

There is usually something we can adapt.

What would I look at if a teenage girl was struggling with sport?

This is where physiotherapy can sometimes help. As always, I would start by listening.

I would want to understand what she enjoys, what she used to enjoy and what has changed.

Does something hurt?

Does running feel uncomfortable?

Is there a particular movement she dislikes?

Does she feel different when she has her period?

Is she tired?

Has she had a growth spurt?

Has her confidence changed?

Does she actually like the sport she is doing?

Then we can start looking at the physical side.

Depending on what is going on, I might look at strength, balance, coordination, control and how she is moving during the activity she wants to do.

The aim isn't to tell her she has to keep doing a sport she hates. It isn't to medicalise every wobble in confidence or every period of change.

It is to work out whether there is something physical getting in the way and, if there is, what we can do about it.

If running has suddenly become uncomfortable, can we improve strength and control?

If a certain movement is painful, can we understand why?

If she is struggling around her period, can we adapt what she does rather than stop everything?

For me, the goal is nearly always to keep someone moving in some way.

Never stop doesn't mean ignore your body

I feel quite strongly about young girls being told simply to stop sport every time something becomes uncomfortable.

That doesn't mean pushing through pain. It doesn't mean ignoring the body. And it doesn't mean that rest is never useful.

It means looking at what is actually getting in the way and adapting where we can.

Sometimes we need to reduce the amount being done.

Sometimes we need to change the type of activity.

Sometimes we need to build strength.

Sometimes we need to temporarily step away from one thing and do something else.

There is usually more than one way to stay active.

Your daughter might not be a runner - and that's absolutely fine

This is something I think parents can really help with. Introduce your children to as many different types of movement as you can.

Give them choice.

One child may love running. Another might hate it. One might love hockey or netball. Another might prefer climbing, dancing, weight lifting, hiking, swimming or diving.

School sport can sometimes give children a fairly narrow idea of what being "sporty" looks like.

But there are so many ways to be active.

I don't want girls growing up doubting their body's abilities simply because they didn't fit the usual school sport mould.

Not being a runner doesn't mean you're not active.

Not liking team sport doesn't mean you're bad at exercise.

Not being competitive doesn't mean movement isn't for you.

Sometimes it is just about finding the thing that fits.

Why this matters later in life

The relationship we develop with movement when we are young can follow us for years.

I work with women after they have had babies, who are moving into perimenopause, who want to return to running, lifting, sport or simply feeling stronger again.

And often, how they identify with their body has been shaped much earlier.

If a woman has spent years believing she isn't sporty, isn't strong or can't trust her body, it can be much harder to suddenly build that confidence as an adult.

Equally, if she has grown up understanding that exercise can change and adapt throughout life, she has something incredibly useful to fall back on.

Being active can help us manage stress, it gives us an outlet and it can support us through difficult periods in our lives.

And if a woman chooses to have a baby later in life, going into that stage already having a relationship with exercise and movement can be hugely valuable too.

I don't think we need teenage girls to become elite athletes, but I just want them to understand that their bodies are capable.

What next?

If your daughter has suddenly started pulling away from a sport she previously loved, it may be worth asking a few more questions before assuming she has simply lost interest.

Is something uncomfortable?

Has her body changed?

Does she feel less confident?

Is her period affecting how she feels about exercise?

Or has she simply not found the type of movement that works for her yet?

Sometimes a little understanding, reassurance and adaptation is all that is needed to keep a young girl moving.

And if pain, discomfort or changes in movement are getting in the way, physiotherapy can help us work out what is happening and how we can support her to stay active.

Because ultimately, I don't care whether my daughters grow up to be runners, weight lifters, hikers, dancers or something completely different.

I just want them to grow up knowing that movement belongs to them and that their bodies are capable of far more than they might sometimes think.