Hop, no more than 152 grams of pasta tonight. Yes, and then, afterwards, you will do a full night, minimum eight hours and twenty minutes of sleep. Rather goose or duck feathers in the pillow to make it easier to fall asleep? Nutrition, recovery, bodybuilding, training volume… In high-level sport, with data, everything is now calculated very precisely so that the athlete can be perfectly supported towards performance. But one piece of data is still far from the concerns of technical staff: the menstrual cycle of sportswomen.
“We are late on the subject”, recognizes Nodjialem Myaro, president of the Women’s Handball League. So, to make up for this “delay”, the LFH and its partner, Lidl, organized a conference on Wednesday in Paris around the subject. The goal: “To raise awareness and be able to talk about it freely, for it to be a first gateway so that young people do not consider their menstrual cycle as a problem and for it to be integrated into performance”, adds the world champion with the Blues in 2003.
“We don’t talk about what is experienced as a weakness”
According to a study conducted by the Ministry of Sports, 84% of sportswomen experience their periods as a difficulty. More than a third of the people interviewed admit that they do not talk about it at all, while 50% say they talk about it sometimes. However, this has a real impact on performance. Eating disorder, bloating, breast pain, headaches, cramps, mood and sleep disorders, poor stress management… “In sport, we need to feel successful, and not talk about what is experienced as a weakness, ”explains Carole Maitre, gynecologist and sports doctor at Insep.
“I was in a fairly irritable mood during the first forty-eight hours, I had stomach cramps, testifies Manon Loquay, who plays for the Neptunes in Nantes. I take Antadys for training. This impacts performance. Above all, I am tired, exhausted, without the desire to train. According to a study conducted by Juliana Antero, a researcher at Insep, on a women’s football team, the more the players have menstrual symptoms, the slower they run (10% less on speed) and the more they feel pains [musculaires, osseuses…].
Coaches need to be trained
Within the clubs, if the subject is sometimes discussed between the players in the locker room, informally, it is only very rarely with the sports supervision. “We were not made aware of the subject, recognizes the coach of Bourg-de-Péage, Camille Comte, present at the conference. It deserves to be trained. We have to worry about it because it has an influence on performance. Players say it doesn’t stop them from training, but they have a high acceptability of pain. Sometimes they go too far, because that’s also their job. »
During their menstrual cycle, some even prefer to chain roucoulettes and chabalas on the parquet floor rather than remaining quiet on the sofa. “Me, playing sports, it helps me, recognizes Maëlys Kouaya, who plays in Plan-de-Cuques. Off the pitch, I don’t feel well, I have back pain. But, once in training, it gets better, it disappears. Obviously, the feeling is different according to the women. But Carole Maitre insists that pain should not be minimized:
Moderate to severe pain, it must be assessed, there must be a medical follow-up. There is enough to take care of, sometimes in a light way, even with homeopathy, so that it bothers as little as possible. In the search for endometriosis, the diagnosis is often very late. There are sometimes more than seven years before the diagnosis is evoked. And it’s important to talk about it because endometriosis also affects teenagers. Do not think that period pain is inevitable. »
“Understanding the influence of the different phases of the cycle”
“Training done with menstrual symptoms will be of lower quality than training done with musculoskeletal injuries. [qui permettent quand même de s’entraîner] “says Juliana Antero. Through the testimonies of handball players and experts, the technician was able to understand in particular that the physical work carried out by one of his players to gain muscle mass had not worked, because it had been carried out during the wrong period.
“After the period, until the period of ovulation, muscle mass gain is more suitable, concedes Juliana Antero. The influence of the different phases of the menstrual cycle must be understood and taken into account in the individual preparation of the players. “The message is in any case passed for Camille Comte:” Doing the right sessions in the right periods of the cycle can help in performance. It’s a parameter to manage for me, like nutrition. »
To help him and all the coaches, the LFH should soon offer a special theme for women in training. In addition, an ambassador (player or staff member) has been appointed in each elite club. A conference will then be organised, in the regions, in the clubs, to draw the attention of the youngest to the subject, particularly in the training centres. Finally, in 2023, Lidl will provide, free of charge, periodic protection in the locker rooms and toilets of the gymnasiums of the Women’s League clubs.