Affiliation:
1. Centre for Health, and Injury & Illness Prevention in Sport, Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath, UNITED KINGDOM
2. Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health, Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London, UNITED KINGDOM
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Purpose
The aim of the study was to assess the influence of menstrual cycle phase on injury incidence, severity, and type in elite female professional footballers over three seasons.
Methods
Time-loss injuries and menstrual cycle data were prospectively recorded for 26 elite female football players across three seasons. The menstrual cycle was categorized into four phases using a standardized model: menstruation (phase 1; P1), remainder of follicular phase (phase 2; P2), early luteal (phase 3; P3), and premenstrual phase (phase 4; P4). Injury incidence rates (IIR) and ratios (IIRR) were calculated for overall injuries, injury severity, type, contact vs noncontact, and game/training.
Results
A total of 593 cycles across 13,390 d were tracked during the study, and 74 injuries from 26 players were eligible for analysis. When comparing IIR between phases (reference: P1), overall injury rates were highest in P4 (IIRR, 2.30 (95% confidence interval, 0.99–5.34; P = 0.05)). When examining rates by injury severity and type, IIR values were also highest in P4 for ≤7 d’ time-loss (4.40 (0.93–20.76; P = 0.06)), muscle-specific (6.07 (1.34–27.43; P = 0.02)), and noncontact (3.05 (1.10–8.50; P = 0.03)) injuries. Muscle-specific (IIRR P3/P1, 5.07 (1.16–22.07; P = 0.03)) and ≤7 d’ time-loss (4.47 (1.01–19.68; P = 0.05)) injury risk was also significantly higher in P3. Muscle injuries were the most prevalent subtype (n = 41). No anterior cruciate ligament injuries were recorded across the monitoring period.
Conclusions
Injury risk was significantly elevated during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle (P3 and P4) among elite female professional footballers. Further research is urgently needed to better understand the influence of the menstrual cycle on injury risk and to develop interventions to mitigate risk.
Publisher
Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Cited by
3 articles.
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