Menstrual Cycles in Women Athletes

Menstrual Cycles in Women Athletes

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QUESTION: There is no longer much question amongst women athletes that our
normal menstrual cycles are affected by the physical training we go through.
My question is why does it happen, and I am at risk for any other unwanted
illness? Last but not least, have you any suggestions for dealing with the
problem?
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ANSWER: The problem certainly is a real one, and affects young women who have
never had a child most often. The condition can range from irregularity to
abnormal bleeding to complete absence of a menstrual period. It also appears
that the intensity of the training and the severity of the abnormality may
also be linked. The culprit seems to be the hypothalamus, a part of the brain
responsible for producing gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH), which in turn
affects the hormones that regulate a woman's normal cycle. During intense
exercise the body produces chemicals called "endogenous opiates" (part of the
reason some athletes get a "high" from their activity) which reduce the
production of GnRH and arrests the cycle. When this occurs it's called
"exercise-induced amenorrhea". Women with this problem have lower bone mass,
and their bone density can closely resemble the situation seen in
postmenopausal women. Stress fractures may result sometimes occurring in the
pelvic and lumbosacral bones. You won't like my advice much, for good sense
requires that the training schedule must be modified and reduced. Smoking is
an absolute no-no, as it too has an antiestrogenic effect. Some researchers
are trying an estrogen replacement therapy in women athletes who just won't
change their preparation schedules or training programs. Currently available
results of medical research just doesn't have all the answers, and I suspect
the ones I do have now are not quite what you hoped they would be.