Injuries

There is some evidence to suggest that there may be an increased risk of musculoskeletal and joint injuries during the late luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Theoretically, there is a possibility that the hormone relaxin, which is known to be secreted at the time of ovulation in humans, is involved. The hormone is associated with the softening and relaxing of ligaments in various joints to aid birth in mammals and has been positively correlated with low back pain in both pregnant and non-pregnant women. However, at the time of writing, no studies into the influence of relaxin in sport injuries in women have been found. Since injury does have an impact, either primary or secondary, on the loss of talented young women athletes, a survey on the time in the cycle that injuries are sustained in athletes could be of great value.

In sport generally it has also been noted that due, among other things, to differing anatomical stresses which predispose women to generate internally rotating forces at the knee, women suffer more non contact knee injuries that men. Specifically women suffer more tears of the anterior cruciate ligament (one of the four that connects the femur and the tibia). Participants in games involving a lot of jumping, landing and direction changes may be at more risk than athletes, but, again, we do not really know.

However, it is clear from all of the above that core muscle stability is of particular importance for injury prevention in females – particularly gluteus medius, external hip rotators, lower abdominals and obliques need to be strong enough to increase stability and help control internal rotation at the knee. Strong quadriceps and hamstrings, good co-ordination and sound technique are also crucial to injury prevention (Injury Prevention – Raphael Brandon Peak Performance Newsletter).

Planning Training

The use of large workloads without taking into account the peculiarities of the female body negatively affects the growth of their sports potentialities. Our many year pedagogical observations and studies have shown that it is not in all phases of the biological cycle that female athletes are able to cope successfully with strenuous training and competition related loads. The correct distribution of physical loads in the 12 month cycle of training should take into account the biorythmic pattern of the female athletes and bring about new sports achievements without any associated risk to their health.

Formin, 1989

It has been reported (USA, 1980s) that altering the frequency of strength training sessions in different phases of the cycle has markedly increased effects on maximal strength. In an experiment, the effects of two different programmes were compared. In the first, weight training was undertaken every third day, regardless of the cycle. In the second, (Menstrual Cycle Triggered Training, MCTT) sessions were carried out every second day in the follicular phase and only once per week in the luteal phase. The object of the sessions was to increase maximal strength. Measurements of body temperature and lutealizing hormone peak were among the tests made to determine the cycle phases. The MCTT resulted in an increase of maximal strength by 32.6% compared to the regular training (13.1%).

Obviously these results beg some very basic questions, especially regarding the significance to highly trained athletes, which the above subjects could not have been. However, Reis and Schmidtbleicher (1993), who showed that female strength trainability correlates with total hormone accumulation, back up the concept. Daly and Ey have collated this and their own research and produced the diagram, an extremely useful summary of how training could be planned to optimize changes during the menstrual cycle. It should be re-emphasised, however, that these responses are highly individual and adaptations should be made in the light careful recording by the athlete of her individual responses. Daly and Ey’s book is essential further reading for coaches of elite female athletes and similar studies on British athletes are needed in order to raise awareness among British coaches.