Effect of Exercise on Different Phases of the Menstrual Cycle

Background: The female menstrual cycle is associated with periodic hormonal changes that can affect cardiovascular responses and exercise in women. The perception of changes in exercise performance and immediate physiology across the different stages of the menstrual cycle is significant for exercise prescription, sports training, and health evaluation in women of reproductive age. Nevertheless, the literature is contradictory regarding the influence of the menstrual cycle phases on exercise tolerance and cardiovascular parameters. Material and Methods: The study was an observational study conducted at Epidemic diseases hospital, Bengaluru during the period 2018-2019. The participants were 100 young, healthy female respondents who were of reproductive age. A sample was tested at various stages of the menstrual cycle. All the subjects were told to cycle until they felt tired. Heart rate and blood pressure were immediately measured after exercise completion using standard physiological measurement methods. Variation in physiological responses and exercise tolerance was determined by comparing exercise performance and post-exercise cardiovascular responses across the various phases of the menstrual cycle. Results: The results of the study showed that there was no statistically significant difference in the performance of the exercise of subjects during the various stages of the menstrual cycle. On the same note, there was no substantial change in post-exercise heart rate or blood pressure across menstrual periods. All the respondents showed similar levels of exercise capacity and cardiovascular responses to cycling, regardless of the stage of the menstrual cycle when the test was conducted. Conclusion: The current research paper shows that there is no variation in exercise performance or in cardiovascular events during cycling at different stages of the menstrual cycle among healthy women of reproductive age. These results indicate that the menstrual cycle phase may not significantly affect the performance of short-duration exercise or post-exercise heart rate and blood pressure. Thus, women can engage in moderate physical activity without worrying about changes in performance across the different phases of their menstrual cycles.

Keywords: Exercise performance, Heart rate, Menstrual cycle, Blood pressure, Cycling exercise, Women.