If you’ve ever felt more injury-prone during your period, you’re not imagining it. New research suggests it may take longer to bounce back from sports injuries during your cycle.
A new peer-reviewed study published in Frontiers in Sports and Active Living found that while female athletes weren’t more likely to get injured during menstruation, the injuries they sustained during their cycle were more severe—resulting in three times more days off compared to injuries sustained at other points in the menstrual cycle.
The findings add to growing evidence that hormonal fluctuations don’t just affect performance, they might also influence how the body responds to injury and how long it takes to heal.
What the study found.
Researchers in Spain and the UK followed 33 professional female soccer players over four seasons. Players tracked their bleeding days, non-bleeding days, and reported any injuries.
Across 852 menstrual cycles, researchers recorded 80 lower-limb injuries, 11 of which occurred during menstrual bleeding days. Injuries sustained during athlete’s bleeding days required more time off from training and competition. Athletes with soft tissue injuries (damage to muscles, tendons, and ligaments) were especially affected. These injuries resulted in 684 days lost per 1,000 training hours during menstruation, compared to 206 days lost during non-bleeding days.
“Although athletes were not injured more often during their period, the injuries that happened during menstruation caused three times more days lost than injuries occurring at other times of the cycle,” Eva Ferrer, MD, study co-author and a sports medicine specialist at Sant Joan de Déu Hospital in Barcelona tells SELF.
Why injuries may be more severe during your period.
The menstrual cycle affects nearly every system in the body, including neuromuscular control, metabolism, immune response, and tissue repair, Jessica Tsao, MD, a sports medicine physician at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital and assistant professor at Columbia University Medical Center tells SELF. During menstruation, essential sex hormones, like estrogen, are at their lowest levels.
“Low estrogen levels may reduce muscle repair and protein synthesis,” Dr. Tsao tells SELF. “Menstruation is also often accompanied by fatigue, pain, disrupted sleep, and iron loss from bleeding—all factors that can impair recovery and neuromuscular control. Ultimately this combination may slow healing.”
What this means for everyday exercisers.
The study focuses on elite athletes, but the implications extend beyond professional sports.
Tracking your cycle and symptoms can help guide training intensity and recovery strategies, but that doesn’t mean your period should dictate your workouts entirely, Dr. Tsao says.