Menstruation in football: this influences the physical preparation of lite teams

During the last Women's World Cup, played in France in the summer of 2019, the United States concentration hotel, the champion, is filled with posters. There were no motivational phrases in them, no portraits of family and friends. The competition calendar appears on the posters, the menstrual cycles of the 23 summoned and the days of medication to harmonize one thing with the other.

The superiority of the USA Team over the rest of the world – win the tournament with seven wins, 28 goals in favor and only three against– based on details as. Before and during the tournament, the 'Yankee' team had a doctor in physiology, Georgie Bruinvels, to monitor the menstruation of the players and, here comes the change, use it in your favor. Because yes, it can be used in favor. To do this, Bruinvels used an application created by herself, called FitrWoman, which this season has bought Chelsea and for which other clubs and franchises of the WNBA have already been interested. A revolution has begun.

It is a subject that comes from afar. In fact, there are studies from the Hungra Olympic team in 1963, before the 1964 Tokyo Games. The problem is that, as most coaches and coaches are men, they are hardly put into practice. Women are still trained as if they were men, with small reductions in intensity or strength. And it shouldn't be that way. A woman must train differently and at certain times even more than a man, says Alberto Garca Bataller, responsible for the Women and Sports course of the INEF, triathlete coach such as the Ana Burgos, Zurie Rodrguez and Marina Damlaimcourt olympics and the man who has most studied in Spain the effects of menstruation on sports performance.

From his explanation, a summary: after the rule, the athletes are unstoppable; before it, enough have to endure. It is important to attend to the hormonal change that occurs during the menstrual cycle. If we take as an example a standard cycle of 28 days, from the third day to the thirteenth, that is, until ovulation, they generate estrogens, which have anabolic characteristics, and that allows them to complete very intense training of strength and speed. Then ovulation arrives and, from ah to the end of the cycle, with progesterone, the cardiac frequency increases, it costs more to breathe … It is time to do maintenance sessions, says Garca Bateller that is, at the same time, a great paradox.

Injuries

Athletes increase their physical abilities with the rise of estrogens but, at the same time, they become more vulnerable. These hormones improve the elasticity of tendons and ligaments and, as a side effect, worsen stability in movements and multiply the risk of injuryn. According to a study from the University of Navarra in 2014, women are up to eight times more likely to suffer a rupture in the anterior cruciate ligament so that, in those days after the rule, it is better to be cautious. In fact, at the peak of estrogen, just before ovulation, even going down stairs could pose a danger to them.

In high performance all this is known; Another thing is to apply. There is more and more awareness, but it is still needed, he points out Miguel Velez, responsible for jumps of the CAR of Sant Cugat, which is carrying out a study on the subject. The objective is to optimize the training of athletes thanks to the menstrual cycle and try to reach the maximum level. We are also analyzing how the psychological aspects change during the menstrual cycle and how they balance with the rise in estrogen, adds the coach, who is still in the study phase.

His analysis, in fact, began with a much broader project, the Project 15.5, which controlled the change of body of teenage athletes, 15, 16 or 17 years old, to avoid cases like that of the American Mary Cain, who went from being a champion to not want to train and suffer suicidal tendencies. In that plan, they discovered that one of the first alarm signals, if the eating disorders were not revealed before, was the loss of menstruation, which caused the loss of estrogen production, osteoporosis and, consequently, breakages. The importance of estrogens revealed a way forward and thus they came to the world that now opens for many preparers.

The United States soccer team and Chelsea also control their players' menstrual cycle so as not to match the competition. They have initiated a revolution that seems unstoppable. We must work with our hormones, not fight them, the doctor in physiology, Georgie Bruinvels, proclaimed.