Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia.
Adelaide Medical School and Robinson Research Institute, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Feb 9;18(4):1667. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18041667.
The effect of the menstrual cycle on physical performance is being increasingly recognised as a key consideration for women's sport and a critical field for further research. This narrative review explores the findings of studies investigating the effects of menstrual cycle phase on perceived and objectively measured performance in an athletic population. Studies examining perceived performance consistently report that female athletes identify their performance to be relatively worse during the early follicular and late luteal phases. Studies examining objective performance (using anaerobic, aerobic or strength-related tests) do not report clear, consistent effects of the impact of menstrual cycle phase on physical performance. Overall sport performance can be influenced by both perceived and physical factors. Hence, to optimise performance and management of eumenorrheic female athletes, there is a need for further research to quantify the impact of menstrual cycle phase on perceived and physical performance outcomes and to identify factors affecting variability in objective performance outcomes between studies.
月经周期对身体表现的影响正日益被视为女性运动的一个关键考虑因素，也是进一步研究的一个重要领域。本叙述性评论探讨了研究月经周期阶段对运动员群体感知和客观测量表现影响的研究结果。研究表明，女性运动员在卵泡早期和黄体晚期自我报告的表现相对较差。研究使用无氧、有氧或力量相关测试来检测客观表现，但并没有报告月经周期阶段对身体表现的影响有明确的、一致的效果。总体运动表现可能受到感知和身体因素的影响。因此，为了优化表现和管理月经正常的女性运动员，需要进一步研究来量化月经周期阶段对感知和身体表现结果的影响，并确定影响研究之间客观表现结果变异性的因素。
