The Biocultural Entanglement of Athlete Training Responses Across the Menstrual Cycle in Recreational Runners
Creators: Szabo, Sara W
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2023

<p>Background: Recent progress in exercise science research has facilitated greater understanding of female athlete physiology, in particular regarding the menstrual cycle (MC) and human performance. Yet, a comprehensive understanding of this topic remains tentative (Casto, 2022). Existing research has focused on defined MC phases, and therefore, the transitions between phases and daily responses across cycles are less understood (Bruinvels et al., 2022). Furthermore, given the variability in MC experiences, it is necessary to gain more knowledge of how exercising females experience and perceive the MC in relation to their athletic training (Brown et al., 2021). This indicates clear gaps in the current MC research including: how training response is influenced by the MC and how female athletes perceive their MC experience. Thus, the purpose of this study was two-fold. First, to explore how physiological and perceptual responses to training are impacted across eight MC time points (T1-T8). Second, to qualitatively explore how trained female runners experience the MC. Methods: A new materialist approach that combined physiological and psychosocial elements of female athletes’ experiences with MC, was used to address the aforementioned research gaps. First, daily training and MC data were collected from sixteen naturally menstruating female distance runners between the ages of 22-40 (mean age 35 ± 4.9 years) using an electronic survey, sent every evening for three consecutive cycles. Physiological measures and perceptual responses to training were: supine resting heart rate (HR), basal body temperature (BBT), duration of training (minutes), perceived rating of exertion (sRPE), satisfaction with training (0 = Extremely Unsatisfied to 10=Extremely Satisfied), motivation to train (0=Extremely Unmotivated to 10=Extremely Motivated) and overall muscle feel (0=Extremely Light to 10=Extremely Heavy). Daily total training stress (TTS a.u.) was calculated as total duration of each training session multiplied by sRPE for that same session. Participants identified if they experienced any MC symptoms (list of 21) each day. Survey data from two participants were excluded from statistical analysis due to a) menstrual cycle irregularity found during monitoring and b) incomplete data set. Repeated measures ANOVAs determined differences in physiological responses, self-reported perceptions to training, and MC symptoms across 8 cycle time points (p ≤ 0.05). Follow-up interviews (5 individual, 5 group; mean duration 87 mins) were completed with sixteen participants and analyzed thematically. Results: Quantitative analysis revealed a difference in basal body temperature (BBT) across the MC (p = &lt;0.001) but no main effect was observed in other survey measures. Post hoc pairwise comparisons found significant differences between MC time points in HR, SAT and MF. Statistical analysis on 13 out of 21 MC symptoms revealed that fatigue, stomach cramps and bloating all differed across the MC (p =&lt; 0.003, p= &lt;0.001 and p= &lt;0.002, respectively). No main effect was observed but post hoc pairwise comparisons found significant differences between MC time points in other symptoms including: increased body temperature, feeling stressed, poor concentration, irritability, heavy legs, headache, disturbed sleep, lower back pain, and reduced motivation. Through qualitative analysis of the interview data, four main themes were developed: a) the body: physical cycle specifics, b) the mind: feelings of exercise, c) resilience is both a blessing and a curse, and d) embracing menstrual cycle as a positive. Conclusion: Overall, a standard use of athlete monitoring found that cycle phase, and the transitions between, influenced athlete responses to training, as well as MC symptoms. This is the first study to take an 8 time-point approach to understanding how the MC influences athlete status. My investigation illustrates the temporal localization of physiological, perceptual and symptomatologic responses to the MC and endurance training, reinforcing that transitions between phases should be considered to establish a more comprehensive investigation between the cultivated experiences of training and the MC. Further, the differences observed in subjective responses such as satisfaction and muscle feel, supplemented by qualitative insights, help inform how female athletes perceive their training and mind/body experiences at various points across the MC. There is currently no conclusive consensus for whether or not, and how, the MC impacts performance (McNulty et al., 2020). However, this study demonstrates that effective integration of qualitative and quantitative data enables a more holistic and nuanced understanding of training response in female athletes.`</p>