New Study Shows Female Athletes Not Hobbled by Monthly Period

Jul 20, 2011
Bob Yirka

Athlete and Monthly Periods - c-louise

A new study conducted in Europe shows that having a monthly period doesn't necessarily mean lowered physical performance.

In a study that might start to put to rest the notion that women are somehow less able to do things than men because they struggle once a month with their menstrual cycle, researchers show that for the female athletes studied, their monthly cycle did not impact their ability to perform in any measurable way.

What the Study on Menstrual Cycles and Female Athletes Showed

The study, as reported in the New York Times, involved volunteer female rowers for various teams in Europe. All of the women involved in the study went to a central lab multiple times over the course of a month, for several months in a row. Some of the women were on oral contraceptives, which alters the hormone levels; some of the women were professional athletes while others were simply hobbyists.

When the women came into the lab, blood samples were taken, and each woman was given a specific set of physical tasks to perform to test her peak abilities.

The Impact of Menstrual Cycles on Female Athletes

After studying hormone levels to determine where the women were in their cycles and comparing them against their physical performance, the researchers report that no measurable difference could be found in performance ability regardless of which day they were in their cycle. Researchers conclude that it's possible that the same could be said for the general population.

Discussion

As was noted in the Comments section of the article, which was dominated by women, for obvious reasons, there are other reasons besides physical fitness or stamina that women may or may not be able to perform up to their normal standards. Pain, for example, might preclude non-athletes from even attempting physical activity. Mood was another reason given by several posters, suggesting that many women who are not professional athletes really don't feel like getting out for physical activity when they're in the middle of their period.

This is not to say that women in general are or are not capable of engaging in physical activity dring their periods, but that the research suggests they could perform at optimum levels if the need arose.

On the other hand, another study, this one done in Australia, showed that women "hopped" differently when at the height of their hormone levels. Their feet splayed a little more than usual, causing their arches to collapse more than at other times. To the observers, they seemed to wobble a tiny bit more. Whether this might impact the skill level of a female athlete remains to be seen.