Skip to main content
Log in

Tracking Women’s Reproductive Data in Sport: Practical Limitations, Perils and Pitfalls

  • Commentary
  • Published:
Sports Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

References

  1. Kindelan K. USWNT used innovative period tracking to help player performance at World Cup. Good morning am. https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/wellness/story/uswnt-innovative-period-tracking-player-performance-world-cup-64339368. Accessed 9 Feb 2022.

  2. Loudin A. New research on the menstrual cycle and athletic performance helps women compete. Wash Post. 2019 Oct 19. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/an-athletic-life-vs-that-time-of-the-month-new-research-is-helping-female-athletes-compete/2019/10/18/523fe92a-dfb2-11e9-be96-6adb81821e90_story.html. Accessed 9 Feb 2022.

  3. Saner E. How period tracking can give all female athletes an edge. The Guardian. 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2019/jul/10/how-period-tracking-can-give-all-female-athletes-an-edge. Accessed 9 Feb 2022.

  4. Bruinvels G, Burden RJ, McGregor AJ, Ackerman KE, Dooley M, Richards T, et al. Sport, exercise and the menstrual cycle: where is the research? Br J Sports Med. 2017;51:487–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Elliott-Sale KJ, Minahan CL, de Jonge XAKJ, Ackerman KE, Sipilä S, Constantini NW, et al. Methodological considerations for studies in sport and exercise science with women as participants: a working guide for standards of practice for research on women. Sports Med. 2021;51:843–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. de Paula OT, Bruinvels G, Pedlar CR, Moore B, Newell J. Modelling menstrual cycle length in athletes using state-space models. Sci Rep. 2021;11:16972.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. UK Sport. PLx 2020 award winners announced. 2020. https://www.uksport.gov.uk/news/2020/11/17/plx-awards-2020. Accessed 9 Feb 2022.

  8. de Jonge XJ, Thompson B, Han A. Methodological recommendations for menstrual cycle research in sports and exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2019;51:2610–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Wideman L, Montgomery MM, Levine BJ, Beynnon BD, Shultz SJ. Accuracy of calendar-based methods for assigning menstrual cycle phase in women. Sports Health. 2013;5:143–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Hampson E. A brief guide to the menstrual cycle and oral contraceptive use for researchers in behavioral endocrinology. Horm Behav. 2020;119: 104655.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Jasienska G, Jasienski M. Interpopulation, interindividual, intercycle, and intracycle natural variation in progesterone levels: a quantitative assessment and implications for population studies. Am J Hum Biol. 2008;20:35–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Stern J, Arslan RC, Penke L. Stability and validity of steroid hormones in hair and saliva across two ovulatory cycles. Compr Psychoneuroendocrinol. 2022;9: 100114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Nazem TG, Ackerman KE. The female athlete triad. Sports. Health. 2012;4:302–11.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Deswal R, Narwal V, Dang A, Pundir CS. The prevalence of polycystic ovary syndrome: a brief systematic review. J Hum Reprod Sci. 2020;13:261–71.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Lizneva D, Suturina L, Walker W, Brakta S, Gavrilova-Jordan L, Azziz R. Criteria, prevalence, and phenotypes of polycystic ovary syndrome. Fertil Steril. 2016;106:6–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Martin D, Sale C, Cooper SB, Elliott-Sale KJ. Period prevalence and perceived side effects of hormonal contraceptive use and the menstrual cycle in elite athletes. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2018;13:926–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Giersch GEW, Charkoudian N, Stearns RL, Casa DJ. Fluid balance and hydration considerations for women: review and future directions. Sports Med. 2020;50:253–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Herzberg SD, Motu’apuaka ML, Lambert W, Fu R, Brady J, Guise J-M. The effect of menstrual cycle and contraceptives on ACL injuries and laxity: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Orthop J Sports Med. 2017;5:2325967117718781.

  19. Lebrun CM, Joyce SM, Constantini NW. Effects of female reproductive hormones on sports performance. In: Constantini N, Hackney AC, editors. Endocrinol Phys Act Sport Second Ed. Totowa: Humana Press; 2013. p. 281–322. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-314-5_16. Accessed 9 Feb 2022.

  20. Rael B, Alfaro-Magallanes VM, Romero-Parra N, Castro EA, Cupeiro R, de Jonge XAKJ, et al. Menstrual cycle phases influence on cardiorespiratory response to exercise in endurance-trained females. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18:860.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Thompson B, Almarjawi A, Sculley D, de Jonge XJ. The effect of the menstrual cycle and oral contraceptives on acute responses and chronic adaptations to resistance training: a systematic review of the literature. Sports Med. 2020;50:171–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Blagrove RC, Bruinvels G, Pedlar CR. Variations in strength-related measures during the menstrual cycle in eumenorrheic women: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Sci Med Sport. 2020;23:1220–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Dasa MS, Kristoffersen M, Ersvær E, Bovim LP, Bjørkhaug L, Moe-Nilssen R, et al. The female menstrual cycles effect on strength and power parameters in high-level female team athletes. Front Physiol. 2021;12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2021.600668. Accessed 9 Feb 2022.

  24. McNulty KL, Elliott-Sale KJ, Dolan E, Swinton PA, Ansdell P, Goodall S, et al. The effects of menstrual cycle phase on exercise performance in eumenorrheic women: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2020;50:1813–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Brown N, Knight CJ, Forrest Née Whyte LJ. Elite female athletes’ experiences and perceptions of the menstrual cycle on training and sport performance. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2021;31:52–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Carmichael MA, Thomson RL, Moran LJ, Wycherley TP. The impact of menstrual cycle phase on athletes’ performance: a narrative review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18:1667.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Findlay RJ, Macrae EHR, Whyte IY, Easton C, Forrest Née Whyte LJ. How the menstrual cycle and menstruation affect sporting performance: experiences and perceptions of elite female rugby players. Br J Sports Med. 2020;54:1108–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Eisenlohr-Moul T. Premenstrual disorders: a primer and research agenda for psychologists. Clin Psychol. 2019;72:5–17.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  29. Gehlert S, Song IH, Chang C-H, Hartlage SA. The prevalence of premenstrual dysphoric disorder in a randomly selected group of urban and rural women. Psychol Med. 2009;39:129–36.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Yonkers KA, O’Brien PS, Eriksson E. Premenstrual syndrome. Lancet. 2008;371:1200–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Hantsoo L, Epperson CN. Allopregnanolone in premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD): evidence for dysregulated sensitivity to GABA-A receptor modulating neuroactive steroids across the menstrual cycle. Neurobiol Stress. 2020;12: 100213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Helm MM, McGinnis GR, Basu A. Impact of nutrition-based interventions on athletic performance during menstrual cycle phases: a review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18:6294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Henne K. “I felt like a lab rat”: the importance of power and context in understanding biometric technologies. Am J Bioeth. 2017;17:63–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Karkazis K, Fishman JR. Tracking U.S. professional athletes: the ethics of biometric technologies. Am J Bioeth. 2017;17:45–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Osborne B. Legal and ethical implications of athletes’ biometric data collection in professional sport. Marquette Sports Law Rev. 2017;28:37.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Testoni D, Hornik CP, Smith PB, Benjamin DK, McKinney RE. Sports medicine and ethics. Am J Bioeth. 2013;13:4–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Pantano KJ. Knowledge, attitude, and skill of high school coaches with regard to the female athlete triad. J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol. 2017;30:540–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Gaedicke S, Schäfer A, Hoffmann B, Ohlert J, Allroggen M, Hartmann-Tews I, et al. Sexual violence and the coach–athlete relationship: a scoping review from sport sociological and sport psychological perspectives. Front Sports Act Living. 2021;3. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2021.643707. Accessed 10 Feb 2022.

  39. Stirling AE, Kerr GA. Abused athletes’ perceptions of the coach-athlete relationship. Sport Soc. 2009;12:227–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Photopoulos J. The future of sex in elite sport. Nature. 2021;592:S12–5.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Fink JS. Female athletes, women’s sport, and the sport media commercial complex: have we really “come a long way, baby”? Sport Manag Rev. 2015;18:331–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Fasting K, Brackenridge C, Sundgot-Borgen J. Prevalence of sexual harassment among Norwegian female elite athletes in relation to sport type. Int Rev Sociol Sport. 2004;39:373–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Fasting K, Chroni S, Hervik SE, Knorre N. Sexual harassment in sport toward females in three European countries. Int Rev Sociol Sport. 2011;46:76–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Fasting K, Sand TS. Narratives of sexual harassment experiences in sport. Qual Res Sport Exerc Health. 2015;7:573–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Kerr G, Stirling A. Where is safeguarding in sport psychology research and practice? J Appl Sport Psychol. 2019;31:367–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Felix A, Crouse L, Jensen T, Cantor M. Opinion. Allyson Felix: my own Nike pregnancy story. N Y Times. 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/opinion/allyson-felix-pregnancy-nike.html. Accessed 10 Feb 2022.

  47. Beltz AM, Beery AK, Becker JB. Analysis of sex differences in pre-clinical and clinical data sets. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2019;44:2155–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Beery AK, Zucker I. Sex bias in neuroscience and biomedical research. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2011;35:565–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Weigard A, Loviska AM, Beltz AM. Little evidence for sex or ovarian hormone influences on affective variability. Sci Rep. 2021;11:20925.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The author thanks Elizabeth Leininger, PhD; Tarayln Tan, PhD and Julia Stern, PhD for reading and providing feedback on an initial version of this article.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kathleen V. Casto.

Ethics declarations

Funding

There was no funding source related to this work.

Conflict of interest

Kathleen V. Casto has no conflicts of interest regarding this work.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Casto, K.V. Tracking Women’s Reproductive Data in Sport: Practical Limitations, Perils and Pitfalls. Sports Med 52, 1723–1727 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-022-01671-6

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-022-01671-6

Navigation