2024-07-29 05:00:00
For both men and women, performing at a high level requires optimal physical and mental preparation, careful nutritional monitoring and impeccable sleep management. In addition to these parameters that female athletes share with men, their preparation and performance may be modulated by menstrual and hormonal cycles. Management of these cycles has long been neglected, but is now necessary for athlete well-being and maximizing their chances of winning medals.
health communication
Every Tuesday at 9:30 am
Receive our selected articles from the Health section as well as rankings of hospitals and clinics, special documents, advice and tips…
Thanks!
Your registration has been considered via email address:
To keep up with all our other newsletters, visit here: Moncompte
By registering, you accept the general conditions of use and our privacy policy.
The number of scientific studies on the subject is still too few and the results are sometimes unreliable, but numerous initiatives such as the ‘Empow’Her’ study by Insep are shedding new light on the links between the menstrual cycle and the body and performance. and risk of injury.
The body goes through cycles
During the 2016 Rio Olympics, Chinese swimmer Fu Yuanhui declared that she could not aim for the gold medal after losing in the 4×100m individual medley final. This sentence alone illustrates the subject perfectly.
Sports federations and management teams that are typically male-dominated are increasingly taking the physiological conditions of female athletes into consideration. There’s no standard protocol, and for good reason: All women react differently, both physically and cognitively.
Some women experience severe pain before or during their period, while others experience heavy bleeding, leading to more fatigue and decreased blood iron levels. Thus, each phase of the cycle appears to determine a specific performance state. Premenstrual weight gain is another parameter that affects athletes differently.
To minimize the risk of reduced performance during competition, or not hinder their preparation, some athletes use hormonal contraceptives to delay their cycles or relieve symptoms. Every woman is different, and the medical team must seek the best solution for each woman while remaining alert to the effects of hormonal regulation through birth control or injections on the athlete’s performance and health.
Better cognitive performance?
A study published in the journal neuropsychology Conducted on 17 May by the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health (ISEH – England) at University College London, it sheds new light on the link between cognitive performance and menstruation. The study showed that women’s reaction speed, accuracy and attention to detail improved during menstruation. For comparative purposes, it was instructive to analyze data from 241 participants, including 96 men and 47 women who did not menstruate due to contraception.
While there were no significant differences in response time and accuracy between men and women, those who had regular periods performed better during their menstrual period compared with other times of the menstrual cycle. This study shows us the extent to which the management of the menstrual cycle is sometimes contradictory and counterintuitive, and that case management based on scientific data is absolutely necessary.
1722264602
#Olympic #Games #poses #challenges #womens #menstrual #health