How do hormones and the menstrual cycle affect athletic performance?
As any woman can tell you, periods can be a real pain, literally and figuratively. Bleeding is a hassle, requiring the use of tampons and sanitary napkins, and many women will experience some degree of menstrual cramping as the uterus expels blood and tissue. Some women are almost completely incapacitated by their periods, either due to intense cramping, heavy bleeding or both. In female athletes, monthly periods can interfere with exercise and training schedules. Some may feel slower, more sluggish, bloated, constipated and more easily fatigued during menstruation. It is difficult, if not impossible, to say how many of these feelings are truly physiologic and how many are due to social and psychological perceptions of menstruation. Nevertheless, the hormones that regulate the reproductive system also have effects on other organ systems and metabolic processes. Estrogens: Estrogens are a group of steroid hormones produced largely by the ovaries. They can be transformed into male sex ho
