Offered Support and Knowledge about the Menstrual Cycle in the Athletic Community: A Cross-Sectional Study of 1086 Female Athletes

Philip von Rosen, Linda Ekenros, Guro Strøm Solli, Øyvind Sandbakk, Hans-Christer Holmberg, Angelica Lindén Hirschberg and Cecilia Fridén ()
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Philip von Rosen: Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Physiotherapy, Karolinska Institutet, Alfred Nobels Allé 23, 141 52 Huddinge, Sweden
Linda Ekenros: Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Physiotherapy, Karolinska Institutet, Alfred Nobels Allé 23, 141 52 Huddinge, Sweden
Guro Strøm Solli: School of Sport Sciences, UiT—The Arctic University of Norway, 9019 Tromsoe, Norway
Øyvind Sandbakk: School of Sport Sciences, UiT—The Arctic University of Norway, 9019 Tromsoe, Norway
Hans-Christer Holmberg: Department of Health Sciences, Lulea University of Technology, 971 87 Lulea, Sweden
Angelica Lindén Hirschberg: Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institutet, 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden
Cecilia Fridén: Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Physiotherapy, Karolinska Institutet, Alfred Nobels Allé 23, 141 52 Huddinge, Sweden

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 19, 1-10

Abstract: Many female athletes perceive that symptoms related to the menstrual cycle such as dysmenorrhea, premenstrual symptoms, amenorrhea or side-effects of hormonal contraceptives negatively impact their training, performance, and general well-being. Knowledge and communication about female athletes’ health is therefore important in the sport community. The aims of this study were to explore the level of knowledge and communication about menstrual cycle issues and use of hormonal contraceptives in the athletic community and to describe the kinds of medical support offered to female athletes. A total of 1086 Swedish and Norwegian athletes from 57 different sports responded to a web-based questionnaire. Of these, 58% ( n = 627) practiced team sports and 42% ( n = 459) individual sports. Twenty-six percent ( n = 278) of the athletes perceived their knowledge about female athlete health to be poor/very poor and the knowledge was most often acquired from medical staff. Fifty-three percent ( n = 572) of the athletes perceived the knowledge acquired of their coaches as poor/very poor, even though a significantly ( p < 0.001) higher proportion of athletes with a female coach (30%, n = 31) rated their coach’s knowledge as very good/good, compared to athletes with a male coach (5%, n = 31). Only 11% ( n = 116) of the athletes discussed female health issues with their coach. The majority (81%, n = 842) of the athletes partly to strongly agreed that female athlete health is considered a taboo topic in the athletic community. Forty-seven percent ( n = 510) of the athletes had access to a physiotherapist, while only three percent ( n = 29) had access to a gynecologist. Low perceived knowledge, lack of communication and support demonstrate the need for a multi-professional medical team and enhanced educational efforts focused on female athlete health in the athletic community.

Keywords: amenorrhea; hormonal contraceptives; menstrual cycle; physical performance; sport (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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