News Brief
Birth control and lower risk of injuries
The contraceptive pill has been linked with lower injury risks in female atheletes in studies performed by a Melbourne podiatrist.
Clinical Podiatrist from the University of Melbourne , Simon Bartold, said that women who play elite sports are at higher risks of injuring themselves than male athletes, especially around the middle of their menstrual cycle.
“We believe this is because they over-train and under-eat. This causes their oestrogen levels to fluctuate more than usual,” he said.
“When you have higher levels of oestrogen, your coordination skills go out the window.”
The research studied two groups of women and measured the tenderness of their Achilles tendons through an ultrasound. The results showed the group using the pill had less flexible Achilles tendons than the group who did not use the pill.
The research also discovered a window of three to four days where women were more likely to get injured during their cycle.
Mr Bartold said: “This presents unique opportunities for clinicians to protect female athletes at these times.”
City News contacted Sports Medicine Australia, the Olympic Park Sports Medicine Centre in Melborne, Netball NSW, Hockey NSW, South Sydney Sports Medicine, The NSW Institute of Sport and The Australian Institute of Sport. However none of these organisations wanted to comment.
