Understanding the menopause
The menopause is sadly still a taboo topic. If we want to support women and be more player-specific, then understanding the menopause is vital. Dr Nicky Keay, Honorary Clinic UCL, explains more.
Menopause is the time when periods stop entirely. It occurs typically when someone is 45-55 years.
In perimenopause, before the menopause, people may notice changes in the menstrual cycle. Their cycle may change in length. There may also be heavier periods and a more problematic premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
Symptoms and impacts
These are some typical symptoms experienced during perimenopause and early post-menopause:
Hot flushes (75% of menopausal women)
“Brain fog”/anxiety
Disturbed sleep
Non-injury related aches and pains
Change in body shape/body composition
Digestive issues
Changes in skin, nails and hair
Palpitations (not due cardiac condition per se)
Headaches
Increased urinary frequency
Menopause can impact players by causing a loss of confidence. It can reduce their ability to recover from training and matches and can leave them feeling like they’re not getting the most from training.
Focuses for players
Players can review their nutrition, training load and recovery. They should focus on quality training with adequate recovery. They can also review/increase strength work.
A good recovery should include refuelling within 20 minutes of stopping, a good night’s sleep and at very least two complete rest days per week.
Periodised training, (including changing loads, sets and repetitions) can help avoid overtraining.
How clubs and coaches can help
Coaches can help players by being flexible within training schedules to allow players more recovery time.
Strength training is particularly important for players of this age, as it helps maintain muscle mass and function, and bone health. So, coaches can also encourage players to focus on strength work and pelvic floor exercises.
Coaches may also need to adapt their warm-up timings as menopausal players will need a longer warm up for injury prevention. Within training, schedule a focus on proprioceptive (balance) skills and flexibility. Try including activities such as airplane balance or single leg squats, alongside the activate programme.
Talk to a player that’s struggling, or to help make it less of a taboo topic by talking about menopause openly with the team. Help make the team become a female-friendly space, where players can share struggles if they need to.
Reassure players and talk to them about that understanding that hormones change over a players’ career: from starting periods, to any menstrual cycle issues, and to menopause.
Clubs could offer workshops for female players on topic menopause (I give talks to many sports eg runners, triathletes, cycling clubs)
The book Myths of Menopause is available to buy. (Pre order with discount code Athena)
Free event discussing Myths of Menopause book on 4/12/24 6-8pm UCL
If you’re unable to sign up for regular paid subscription, you can buy me a (greatly appreciated) coffee