St Mary’s Sport Rehabilitation Associate Professor Features in Arsenal Women FC Documentary

Sport Rehabilitation associate professor at St Mary’s University, Twickenham (SMU), Kat Okholm Kryger, has featured in an Arsenal Women FC documentary series alongside footballers Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema.

The Step by Step: Viv and Beth’s ACL journey series follows Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema during their recovery from anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries. The aim of the documentary is to highlight the mental and physical toll of injuries on athletes, as well as explore why ACL injuries are so prevalent in the women’s game.

SMU’s Kat Okholm Kryger features in the third episode of the series, where she is invited by Beth and Vivianne to talk about why ACL injuries happen and what can be done to minimise the number of injuries in women’s football. Kat was invited alongside five other researchers from around the world, to share their expertise and knowledge on ACL injuries in sport.

Reflecting on the experience, Kat said, “This documentary is both emotional, fun and powerful. You get a unique insight into the minds of injured athletes, as well as how the backroom staff manage challenging situations like ACL injuries. I really enjoyed being part of the research discussions within the documentary on why ACL injuries happen in football, and how inequalities in men’s and women’s football today are likely to influence both the number of injuries and the management of injuries. The most important message is that we can do a lot more to minimise the risk of injury.”

The first episode of Step by Step: Viv and Beth’s ACL journey was released on Monday 18th December 2023, with a new episode coming out each day. The series can be watched on the Arsenal website as well as on the official Arsenal app.

Kat will also be participating in a Q&A session at the upcoming Unleashing the Potential of Women and Girls in Sport conference held by Westminster Insights, on Tuesday 30th January 2024.

The session is titled Next Steps for Professional and Elite Sport – Levelling the Playing Field with the Men’s Game, with Kat saying, “This event is a brilliant opportunity to highlight the developments and challenges still faced regarding sports opportunities for women and girls in the UK.

“I am very excited to discuss the current inequalities in elite sports with experts in the field, and I am confident that having constructive conversations like this will help spread awareness of the actions needed to improve opportunities, facilities and respect in women’s sport.”