Fascinating Economist article on injuries in female athletes and menstrual cycle

[boatyardblues]

The article is about anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries and the impact of the menstrual cycle on injuries during training. It underlined for me how crucial it is that we continue to use accurate definitions and language in scientific research and also flagged another sex-based challenge that female athletes have to contend with.

www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2021/06/18/acl-injuries-are-a-growing-problem

I’m not sure this will generate much discussion but it warranted a share. 🙂

Ah I really notice differences in athletic performance at certain times in my cycle. And it’s crazy that it’s taken until I’m in my 40s for it to ever be discussed!

I think they need to rename the sections
'Underresearched things that affect female people even without men in the equation'
and
'Underresearched things that affect female people specifically because male people exist'

Super interesting, how sad that it is only just being studied!
I second (third or fourth) the comment about this not being on the Feminist Chat!

If there cannit be a discussion about women’s bodies and their impact on women in Feminism, what is that board for?

Gosh yes a thread about the impact of women’s menstrual cycle on injuries in sport - OBVIOUSLY this sits under the gender debate. Ffs mumsnet these studies were done on women, no gender variances involved.

I'm currently on a knee injury at the moment. A recurring one.

Anyone else get angrier every year at just how much women’s health is ignored?

Reporting this thread as it definitely is a feminist chat thread.

Otherwise mnhq are clearly stating who they think feminism is for.

Bloody hell that was quick!

Thanks mnhq.

If you've not listened to them previously, there are some in-depth podcasts on injury, nutrition, and sports physiology from We do science - there are some excellent episodes that are explicitly about female athletes and our training needs.

www.wedoscience.com/

That's great, thanks.

Re women's brains and cycle, which researchers have been looking at within football and headers and dementia risk, Lisa Mosconi's book the xx brain is brilliant. Impact of peri menopause hormones and the brain.

Interesting. My dd plays sport a lot and every month without fail the week before her period she gets a back injury. I put it down to ligament relaxation, the same as when we are pregnant. Extra vitamins, theragun, rice and care for that week every month seems to be helping. It would be good if the expectation was less though.

And yes, during puberty she felt her performance dipped.

This is really interesting, my DD does a lot of sports as well. I am looking forward to reading more about it!

I am just a bit confused as to why this is in the sex & gender topic. Are we not allowed to discuss biology related to sex in feminism chat ?

Is this the Fitr Woman study? I took part in that!

I have had an injury since February and since taking part in the study I’ve got into the habit of tracking. Every month, the week before my period, it starts playing up again without fail. It’s like a new PMT symptom for me - foot is niggling, period must be due.

Will now go back and read the article, if I can get to it. I was just all excited to see that it might be a study I may have been a tiny part of.

Chelsea use fitr, so yes?

Oh wow, that's fascinating!

I'd like to know if reactions to viruses are different at different times of the month too.

I've had both jabs on the day of my period and have wondered if low oestrogen has affected symptoms.

It’s a fascinating and neglected topic. Thanks for sharing, op.

I’m also keen to see more research around how women can safely exercise in menopausal bodies, as the hormonal fluctuations there can also have a huge impact on injury and performance.

Stacy Sims talks about hormones affecting the immune system, and causing inflammation the week before period starts. She recommends zinc, magnesium and omega 3. Disclaimer: I am not an expert!!! It's such interesting stuff.

Fascinating! I became interested in how menstrual cycle affects women when I noticed the massive cyclical variations in my resting heart rate each month on my Fitbit, it was actually the case that I could tell when my period was coming, as my resting heart rate would gradually rise after ovulation and then start to dip a day or two before my period started. Being a bit of a nerd I searched for literature around this and was really disappointed how little there was.