AIS researchers launch new study into how the menstrual cycle influences sports performance
The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) has started research into the impact athletes have on the different stages of their menstrual cycle.
Core items:
- Research on women’s sports medicine is underrepresented, which researchers at the AIS and the Australian Catholic University are hoping to change
- A new study monitors rugby league players as they train for months, while also tracking their menstrual cycles
- The goal is to help athletes and the general population better understand menstruation and how it affects their health
The study focuses on a group of 26 participants who will monitor various aspects of their health and performance while tracking their menstrual cycles.
It is hoped that the results will help athletes and other researchers better understand the effects of menstruation and use this knowledge to optimize performance.
Hope the study will fill the gap in sports medicine research
Ataliah Love, 19, has been monitoring her period for almost as long as she’s been playing rugby.
The Mackay resident has been involved in the sport for six years.
“When I started playing football [my period] was a bit erratic,” she said.
“So it just took me a little bit to get used to the different changes in my activity level, like figuring out how to manage it and my diet.
“It is [been] a process of getting used to it.”
Ms. Love is now one of the study participants.
She said she hopes to learn more about what her body needs at different stages of her cycle.
“I’m definitely looking forward to finding out the times, especially if I’ll be stronger or make the most gains at certain points in my cycle,” she said.
“Just to be with such elite researchers and trainers, to be surrounded by such an environment is just an amazing opportunity.”
Sports and exercise medicine specialist Rachel Harris, who is leading the study, said it’s common for athletes like Ms Love to have a good understanding of their own body’s needs at different times of their cycle, but that’s where the knowledge ended.
She said only 6 percent of research in this area is done on women.
“The amount of high-quality research that has been done in these specific areas is minuscule,” she said.
There is no such thing as “normal”.
The study is being conducted in collaboration with NRLW and the Australian Catholic University at a research camp for women athletes to “fill in these research gaps”.
It also acts as a training camp for the participants hoping to one day become professional NRLW players.
Participants have already spent two months tracking their menstrual cycles while scientists analyzed their performance, sleep, diet, recovery and strength.
Some of the group takes hormonal contraceptives.
dr Harris said while there are many myths and beliefs about how menstrual cycles affect people’s physical abilities, there are big differences between individuals.
“We’ve been tracking these athletes for two months now, and when we look at that, there’s probably only a handful of athletes that would be in the ‘normal’ ranges of a normal menstrual cycle — if we include the quotes,” she said.
“All the other athletes that sit outside of that have some really big differences, and one of the biggest things that comes out of that is really looking at what that area of normality is like within our athlete population.”
She said they are also interested in better understanding what percentage of athletes may have dysfunctional menstrual cycles and how it might affect their athletic ability.
The researchers hope that the study will have a positive impact not only on the health of athletes but also on the general population.
“So often when we talk about the menstrual cycle, there’s a lot of negativity surrounding it,” said Dr. harris.
But she said it doesn’t have to be.
“Some of our athletes feel really strong at different points in the cycle or would prefer to have their grand finale at a different point in their menstrual cycle.
“But mostly women are very resilient — we have women out there breaking records, we have them winning gold medals… and they’re at all stages of their menstrual cycle.
“I think we have to be really careful, you know, throwing too much negativity at the menstrual cycle, and there’s absolutely some positives as well.”
dr Harris said she hopes more research in this area would help more women exercise longer.
“We’ve got women getting off a lot more often than men at every stage of the life cycle, and we really just want them to keep exercising,” she said.
“I think one of the great things about this research is that it will prove that you can do anything during the menstrual cycle and stay as active and fit as you can.”