Effects of Menopause on Female Endurance Athletes

Description/Abstract/Artist Statement

Menopause is a natural biological process that signals the end of a woman’s menstrual cycle, typically around the age of 50 years. Menopause impacts a woman’s musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems, causing negative symptoms such as hot flashes, exhaustion and joint discomfort. These physical symptoms may also cause mental symptoms, such as anxiety and irritability. There have been studies that show that exercise can reduce the natural adverse effects of aging, but these studies have largely focused on men. The studies that have focused on the impact of menopause on exercise have primarily focused on women with sedentary lifestyles, not endurance athletes. This study aims to investigate the impact of menopausal symptoms on the training and performance of menopausal endurance female athletes that participate in running, cycling, swimming, or triathlons. We are employing a Qualtrics survey to assess the answers to several questions to estimate the extent of which menopause symptoms, both mental and physical, impact the training and/or performance of the endurance athletes in their chosen sport in order to better understand the obstacles that face menopausal female athletes in the athletic world. We are also investigating the use of wearable fitness devices in tracking menopausal symptoms to see if these devices have any impact on the training and/or performance in order to create training programs that improve training and performance for menopausal female endurance athletes.

Presenting Author Name/s

Paige Jannereth

Faculty Advisor/Mentor

Heather Hamilton

Faculty Advisor/Mentor Department

Rehabilitation Sciences

College Affiliation

College of Sciences

Presentation Type

Poster

Disciplines

Sports Sciences

Session Title

Poster Session

Location

Learning Commons Lobby @ Perry Library

Start Date

3-30-2024 8:30 AM

End Date

3-30-2024 10:00 AM

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Mar 30th, 8:30 AM Mar 30th, 10:00 AM

Effects of Menopause on Female Endurance Athletes

Learning Commons Lobby @ Perry Library

Menopause is a natural biological process that signals the end of a woman’s menstrual cycle, typically around the age of 50 years. Menopause impacts a woman’s musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems, causing negative symptoms such as hot flashes, exhaustion and joint discomfort. These physical symptoms may also cause mental symptoms, such as anxiety and irritability. There have been studies that show that exercise can reduce the natural adverse effects of aging, but these studies have largely focused on men. The studies that have focused on the impact of menopause on exercise have primarily focused on women with sedentary lifestyles, not endurance athletes. This study aims to investigate the impact of menopausal symptoms on the training and performance of menopausal endurance female athletes that participate in running, cycling, swimming, or triathlons. We are employing a Qualtrics survey to assess the answers to several questions to estimate the extent of which menopause symptoms, both mental and physical, impact the training and/or performance of the endurance athletes in their chosen sport in order to better understand the obstacles that face menopausal female athletes in the athletic world. We are also investigating the use of wearable fitness devices in tracking menopausal symptoms to see if these devices have any impact on the training and/or performance in order to create training programs that improve training and performance for menopausal female endurance athletes.