Menstruation and sports

Since we are in a very special week honoring all the women around us, I wanted to dedicate a post exclusively to them on a topic that involves many myths and misconceptions. I'm talking about menstruation and sport.

Some time ago a close friend of mine recommended me to write about how the menstrual period can affect the female athlete during her workouts and/or competitions. She caught my attention because she assured me that when she was in her days she didn’t feel as strong, on the contrary she felt heaviness and fatigue; So I took the task of contacting a good friend of my family to help me expand on the subject. Dr. Manrique Vargas Prado, a Physician specialist in Gynecology, Obstetrics and Maternal-fetal Medicine of the Hospital Mexico of Costa Rica.

First of all, we must start with the fact that the symptoms that women face during the period of menstruation are very variable and can involve physical, emotional and psychological factors, although they do not always affect everyone. Some of the manifestations that can occur are: mild pelvic pain, small cramps, contractions (in severe cases), changes in mood that are often accompanied by irritability, among others. Some women can present all of them, but there are others that do not present any discomfort beyond the physical manifestation of bleeding.

Gladiators, I have excellent news. It is proven that exercising during menstruation is VERY BENEFICIOUS, as it helps to MINIMIZE the effects that this generates in the body.

On the other hand regarding the sports performance, it can partially affect elite athletes, especially in the premenstrual and menstrual phases due to the hormonal changes that the female body experiences. However, there are many cases of women who have obtained Olympic medals while they have been in their menstrual period, exceeding others that did not have it.

An interesting fact is that women who engage in a lot of exercise may experience episodes in which their menstruation disappears, better known as amenorrhea. This situation can perfectly go back to normal at any time.

It is advisable to be strict with hydration before, during and after workouts (see previous post on hydration), and reduce salt intake by the fluid retention that occurs in that period.

Finally, a couple of questions that women ask in relation to the subject and which I intend to clarify are:

Are there exercises that I should avoid? No, you can perform any kind of exercises.

Should I use pads or tampons? Whichever you prefer!! Everything depends on your preference given that it has not been proven that either one can be harmful when exercising.

For the benefit of all of you, there are now many products that the market offers so you can get through your menstruation period like a gladiator, making excuses to exercise is a thing of the past, so: GO TRAIN HARD!

#english