For example, the British Football Association was literally forced to respond to the confirmed fact that knee injuries are six times more common among female footballers in the British top flight than among their male counterparts. The Association of Professional Footballers commissioned an extensive international study to explain this mystery. And although the three-year study should not be completed until next year, some preliminary results mention the influence of differences in the male and female organism.
For example, women have a wider pelvis on average, which affects the axis of the legs and the stability of the knees. And some other physiological differences, including menstruation, play a role to the disadvantage of women (compared to men) in terms of the threat of injury during sports.
During menstruation, according to some expert studies, hormones are released into the body, which can have a negative effect on the stability of the joints. In addition, a certain psychological discomfort during the menstrual cycle, influenced by a change in the level of stress hormones, can also contribute to the threat of injury.
“We know that it changes their (women’s) stress hormones. We know that it can impair muscle recovery from physical exertion and cause some peripheral nerve constriction, so their focus is impaired,” said Dale Forsdyke, who is based at York St. John University in England deals with the phenomenon of sports injuries.
Because of the changes that a woman’s body goes through during menstruation, which increase the risk of injury, some doctors recommend that women rest rather than exercise. But no one can imagine that with top female athletes.
At the Winter Olympics, women ski jump, run down the slopes at high speed, and play hockey. And at the same time, no one knows, unless they admit it themselves, like Dorothea Wiererová, whether their performance (and therefore also the threat of injury) is affected by menstruation.
