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GAIT BIOMECHANICS AMONG FEMALE ENDURANCE RUNNERS: COMPARING DAYS WITH OR WITHOUT MENSTRUAL CYCLE-RELATED SYMPTOMS.
Dana Golden1, Erin M Moore2, Art Weltman2
1National Women's Soccer League, Chicago, IL.
Journal of Athletic Training
|May 29, 2025
Summary
Female endurance runners showed no significant biomechanical differences between symptomatic and asymptomatic days during their menstrual cycle. Despite reporting symptoms, their running form and impact measures remained consistent.
Area of Science:
- Sports Medicine
- Exercise Physiology
- Biomechanics
Background:
- The menstrual cycle can influence athletic performance and training in female athletes.
- Understanding how menstrual cycle symptoms affect running biomechanics is crucial for optimizing training and injury prevention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the differences in running biomechanics between symptomatic and asymptomatic days in female endurance runners.
- To determine if menstrual cycle-related symptoms impact objective measures of running form and efficiency.
Main Methods:
- An observational study involving 27 female university club runners equipped with shoe-mounted sensors (RunScribe) to collect biomechanical data.
- Daily surveys tracked menstrual status, wellness, and training, alongside collecting data on impact Gs, braking Gs, pronation, foot strike, and gait speed.
- Paired sample t-tests were used to compare biomechanical variables between symptomatic and asymptomatic running days.
Main Results:
- All 27 participants experienced at least one menstrual cycle-related symptom during the study.
- Fourteen runners had viable data for pairwise comparison, revealing no significant differences in biomechanical measures between symptomatic and asymptomatic running days (p > .05).
- Runners reported fewer running days when symptomatic, but objective biomechanical data did not reflect symptom-related changes.
Conclusions:
- Female endurance runners do not exhibit significant changes in objective running biomechanics when experiencing menstrual cycle-related symptoms.
- Despite the absence of objective biomechanical alterations, the perceived symptom burden warrants further research into athlete expectations and the menstrual cycle's impact on performance.
- Future studies should explore the psychological and perceived effects of menstrual cycle symptoms on female athletes' performance and training adherence.
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