by Louisa McKay
The menstrual cycle is made up of four main stages, menstruation, the follicular phase, ovulation and the luteal phase, all four of these phases impact the female body, throughout the menstrual cycle hormones are released and then sent between the brain and the ovaries which causes the changes to the sacs in the ovaries that contain eggs and the uterus. During menstruation, which is the period, the lining of the uterus is shedding which means the levels of oestrogen and progesterone are both low. Then the oestrogen rises again during the follicular phase in preparation for an egg to be released. The egg is released during ovulation where the oestrogen levels peak before the release and then drop again shortly after. The time between ovulation and the start of menstruation is called the luteal phase where the body prepares for a potential pregnancy, as to cater for this the progesterone is produced, it peaks and then drops again. So, with female hormones essentially being on a yoyo constantly, what are the implications for athletes especially?
High levels of oestrogen have been proven to have ‘a dramatic effect on musculoskeletal function’ - the levels of this hormone directly impact tissue such as muscles, tendons and ligaments. It increases the collagen content of connective tissues and also your muscle mass, meaning muscles are often stronger and also held together with much more security, which increases their function overall, however, the high levels of oestrogen have negative effects within tendons and ligaments, high levels of oestrogen decrease stiffness which ultimately increases the risk of injury and negatively affects performance. Equally, high oestrogen levels can significantly decrease the power and lead to severe ligament injuries such as a rupture of the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament). So from this, it’s logically wise to reduce the intensity of exercise during the parts of your cycle when your oestrogen levels are high to reduce the risk of severe injuries. However, very few women would be able to say they actually do this - and this, I would argue, is down to societal responses to menstruation and its side effects.
Periods are still a somewhat taboo topic within our society - Chinese swimmer, Fu Yuanhui, told reporters she was suffering from period pains during a relay in the Rio Olympics in 2016, to which she was met with raised eyebrows as her comments sparked many conversations on Twitter. Yet the question of why something so normal is still such a touchy topic? Its widely thought the taboo lies within history and the patriarchal society, how menstruation was a demonstration of sin and evil’ seeing as it involves the female reproductive organs, despite these being seemingly outdated reasons, they still lead to a lack of conversation and understanding around an unbelievably natural bodily function, this seems harmless, however, can lead to females, of all ages, putting themselves at unnecessary risk due to a lack of understanding about their own bodies
It's also been researched by, leader of the Neural plasticity Laboratory at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Lynn Rodgers, that there is evidence to suggest that women have a higher risk of tissue injuries during the first half of their menstrual cycle, especially during the approach to ovulation, where the oestrogen levels are particularly high. Her team’s suggestion was that the production of the two main hormones, progesterone and oestrogen, may alter the efficiency of the communication of neurons within the muscles, ligaments, tendons and other tissue which aid the body’s movement - this would lead to muscle systems not being as effective as they could be simply because of the production of a hormone. She suggested that coaches and trainers took into account the bodily signals of their female athletes and altered their training to fit the cycle of the females as to best protect them from injury - for example, it's been indicated that ‘progesterone can be protective against knee injuries’.
Equally, the mental impacts of menstruation can be just as tiring and damaging as the physical ones, most females will experience some degree of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) which causes emotional and physical symptoms around a week or two before your period, and in very severe cases premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) which can have serious impacts on your life, making it difficult to work, socialise, exercise, and can also lead to suicidal thoughts in some cases. Factors like this could explain why ’55% percentage of runners interviewed at the London Marathon Expo in 2015 said their menstrual cycle affected their training and/or performance’, Women in Sport UK found that 42% of girls will skip sport when they’re on their period - these statistics show that something needs to be done within sport to allow females to feel more confident exercising during any part of their cycle
So, to aid this change it’s advised that ‘low and moderate exercise’ is ideal during times when your oestrogen levels are high as the body will often feel fatigued so an exercise like this is the most beneficial to you - ‘focus[ing] on sleep’ is essential to reduce inflammation which may be worsening PMS symptoms. To make the most of the parts of your cycle when your progesterone is high as this is the safest time to push your body to its physical limits while also limiting the risk of severe ligament injury. Finally, young females need to see menstruation as a valid excuse to not perform to the best of their abilities so speaking about the issue lessens the taboo and makes sport a more welcoming environment for everyone.
Sources
https://helloclue.com/articles/cycle-a-z/the-menstrual-cycle-more-than-just-the-period
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6341375/
https://www.sportsinjuryfix.com/blog/is-my-menstrual-cycle-affecting-my-exercise-and-performance
Comments
Post a Comment
Comments with names are more likely to be published.