Athletes' injury risk altered by menstrual cycle, research indicates

Tara De Boer · CBC Sports

· Posted: May 14, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Canadian coxswain Kristen Kit has had a long, palmy vocation competing for Canada successful the women's 8 boat, winning 2 Olympic medals successful the process.

But successful each her years connected the nationalist team, Kit has ne'er taken a time disconnected for her menstrual cramps.

"Never, successful my 16 years," she said successful an interrogation with CBC Sports. "I don't deliberation I've ever known erstwhile anyone connected my team, myself included, took a signifier disconnected oregon took a time disconnected for cramps."

For some, menstrual cramps tin consciousness similar aggravated throbbing successful the little abdomen and symptom that radiates to your little backmost and thighs, but caller probe from the University of Vigo successful Pontevedra, Spain has recovered that a pistillate athlete's hormonal changes could also pb to potential injuries.

"I americium caput blown by this," Kit said. "For Olympic athletes, wherefore bash we not person idiosyncratic coming to speech with america astir this stuff? I don't privation to get injured." 

The aforesaid study found that a woman's monthly hormonal changes could change biomechanics and question patterns, creating a higher accidental for injury.

The survey besides indicates that pistillate athletes have a harder clip balancing, oregon gathering and rebuilding musculus tissue, erstwhile hormones similar estrogen and progesterone summation successful the body. 

According to Joanna Blodgett, a Canadian researcher who works arsenic a elder probe chap astatine the Institute of Sport Exercise and Health successful London, sports subject lone focuses astir six per cent of its probe exclusively connected pistillate athletes. As a result, "most jock grooming programs, wounded prevention strategies, and betterment protocols" are designed for antheral athletes, said Blodgett.

WATCH | Link between menstruation and injuries: 

Injury importantly higher

The probe besides indicates that an athlete's hazard of wounded is importantly higher during the luteal signifier of a female's menstrual cycle, which was recovered to beryllium the 5 days starring up to menstruation.

"Seeing that wounded hazard isn't the aforesaid crossed the menstrual rhythm is precise important," Blodgett said. "Of course, we can't power competitory fixture schedules against each athlete's cycle."

Kit has suffered respective injuries successful her career, astir of which she recalls happening a fewer days earlier getting her period. 

"[In January] I was moving with my dog, and deed a stone wrong, and twisted my ankle," she said. "I wonderment too, if I'm conscionable a small spot little paying attraction starring up to my period. l truly deliberation 5 days earlier I americium benignant of each implicit the place.

"In motorcycle racing, each of my large crashes look to hap close earlier my period. When I shattered my collarbone … I got my play a fewer days later, waiting for surgery." 

According to Margo Adam, an adjunct prof astatine the University of Alberta whose probe focuses connected menstrual relation and dysfunction amongst women athletes, many report feeling distracted portion connected their period. 

"Athletes speech astir however women had to miss portion of their lukewarm up, for example, due to the fact that they needed an other interruption successful the washroom," she told CBC Sports. "In sport, often you're trying to deliberation externally. You're reasoning astir a strategy. You're trying to bash things that are extracurricular of your body, and erstwhile you get twinges, erstwhile you get cramps, erstwhile you get symptom that is distracting, and it takes distant from the antithetic strategical and bigger representation elements that you mightiness beryllium truly trying to absorption on."

She adds that being distracted successful athletics tin pb to perchance antithetic types of failures oregon mistakes. 

It is worthy noting that galore probe studies person besides recovered galore pistillate athletes experience amenorrhea, which means that they bash not have a period. As a result, these athletes are not subjected to the hormonal changes from the menstrual cycle. 

Pushing for much research

Further probe is urgently needed connected this taxable to recognize the power of the menstrual rhythm connected wounded hazard successful bid to forestall much injuries successful sport.

"If we privation to make a much equitable playing tract successful sports for women, the probe has to drawback up," said Blodgett. "This means much funding, prioritisation, and semipermanent committedness to amended probe that volition pass the champion strategies to optimise pistillate jock wellness and performance." 

In soccer, athletes reportedly person a higher likelihood of tearing their ACL (anterior cruciate ligament). Females specifically person a 2.8 times greater accidental of the wounded than their antheral counterparts, according to information collected connected 28 females cited successful a 1999 survey by researchers astatine the University of Minnesota. This is starring researchers similar Blodgett to statesman exploring reasons for the spread and however menstrual cycle are factored in. 

"We were seeing a batch of anecdotal grounds from players — often successful the media — linking ACL injuries to circumstantial points successful their menstrual cycle. For example, a subordinate mightiness speech astir the nonstop time they got injured," she said.

One study, published successful the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, recovered that among 74 pistillate nonrecreational shot players, 30 per cent had rhythm irregularities, and 74 per cent had cycle-related symptoms.

Canadian shot subordinate Cloé Lacasse and Tierna Davidson of the USA's elder women's nationalist team, are 2 of the nationalist squad stars who person suffered ACL tears recently. 

Blodgett said knowing the nexus lends itself to commencement reasoning astir subordinate attraction differently.

"We can't power competitory fixture schedules against each athlete's cycle. Instead, it's astir being smarter with things similar wounded prevention strategies, recovery, and however we pass with athletes," she said. "If we cognize determination are circumstantial windows wherever wounded hazard mightiness beryllium higher, we tin statesman to physique much tailored, proactive approaches."

Organizations specified as FIFA, the planetary governing assemblage for soccer, are opening to admit the nexus betwixt injuries and menstruation. The U.K.'s Kingston University announced earlier this month it volition person backing from FIFA to analyse the nexus betwixt the menstrual rhythm and the precocious complaint of ACL injuries successful women's football.

The backing is provided done FIFA's Research Scholarship strategy successful hopes of making developments successful training, betterment and aesculapian attraction designed appropriately for pistillate physiology. 

Canadian shot seasoned Desiree Scott is successful afloat enactment of this circumstantial research. 

"Especially successful the past fewer years, there's been mode excessively galore ACL tears. So if we tin find a solution that's contributing to that, let's enactment the concern successful to probe that and and assistance a gal out," the 37-year-old told CBC Sports. 

She said she uses a menstruation tracking app to recognize however her vigor levels and assemblage is affected some for show and for mundane life. 

And according to Adam, much probe volition let for accrued vocation longevity for pistillate athletes, arsenic opposed to conscionable "flash-in-the-pan performances."

"We cognize the trajectories to precocious show typically aren't linear for women, truthful we request to let that flexibility successful that space," she said.