The 42-year-old medic was part of New Zealand’s backroom staff during the All Whites’ adventures in the Rainbow Nation, which also happens to be the land of her birth.
It was therefore a natural step for FIFA to call on her services for the duration of the Women’s World Cup Germany 2011 but this time around her remit is significantly wider.
“My main task here is running post-match drug tests but I also fulfil a general supervisory role, dealing with medical issues in relation to staff, fans and players,” Geertsema explains.
Thankfully, there have been no serious injuries to report since the beginning of the competition and no player has been forced to curtail her participation for medical reasons. But, for Geertsema, there is still work to be done.
“For some time now, we’ve noticed a marked increase in women’s speed, physical strength and technique. And the viewing figures from this World Cup prove these aspects have made it more appealing to fans,” she says.
“The flip side of this coin is seen in the physio room. While women still get hurt considerably less often than men, data collected since 1999 shows a gradual rise.”
Although career-ending injuries are principally confined to men’s football, other physical complaints are more prevalent in the sport’s female category.
“The most common injuries suffered are those that affect the knee ligaments, because they happen to be more fragile in women than in their male counterparts,” the South African specialist says.
“And there’s no doubt that hormonal factors are also at work. There’s not much we can do about that element but what we can do is work on the players’ muscle strength and coordination to reduce the risk of injury,” she adds.
A partial or total tearing of the cruciate ligaments often signifies an entire season on the sidelines for a player and is therefore not to be taken lightly.
“FIFA has developed programmes aimed specifically at women, as well as carrying out a lot of in-depth research on the subject,” Geertsema says.
The fruit of this labour has been ploughed into a landmark booklet entitled ‘Health and Fitness for the Female Football Player’. It is an official guide – distributed by FIFA to key figures throughout the women’s game – detailing injury prevention methods and sustainable health-related advice.
Bu there is one medical area where men and women do find themselves competing on a level playing field: pain.
“That aspect is an individual thing, in my opinion, and has no real connection to the sex of the player,” Geertsema states.
“We’ve seen women put up with levels of pain that some men aren’t able to endure. I do think, though, that female footballers pay more attention to their bodies and tend to react more quickly to early warning signs and fatigue.”
The New Zealand-based physician is not completely ready to sign up to the idea of a combined edition of the world’s greatest sporting event just yet, however.
“It’s perhaps more feasible in football than in other sports, because it’s a teamwork-based game that requires dexterity and skill. But there is still a lot of athletic exertion involved, so I would say that for the moment it remains an unlikely prospect.”
Despite this statement, Geertsema concludes the discussion on an upbeat note.
“Women still aren’t offered the same opportunities as men, so we can’t undo all that with a magic wand. But, who knows, maybe one day.”
Story courtesy of FIFA.com.
For more on the world game go to www.fifa.com