scholarly journals The Effect of the Menstrual Cycle and Oral Contraceptive Cycle on Muscle Performance and Perceptual Measures

Author(s):  
Belinda M. Thompson ◽  
Kaitlyn B. Drover ◽  
Rhiannon J. Stellmaker ◽  
Dean V. Sculley ◽  
Xanne A. K. Janse de Jonge

Most reproductive-aged women are exposed to fluctuating female steroid hormones due to the menstrual cycle or oral contraceptive use. This study investigated the potential effect of the menstrual cycle and combined monophasic oral contraceptive cycle on various aspects of muscle performance. Thirty active females (12 with a natural menstrual cycle, 10 taking a high-androgenicity oral contraceptive and 8 taking a low-androgenicity oral contraceptive), aged 18 to 30 years, were tested three times throughout one menstrual or oral contraceptive cycle. Counter-movement jumps, bilateral hop jumps, handgrip strength, isometric knee extensor strength and isokinetic knee flexion and extension were assessed. Perceptual ratings of fatigue, muscle soreness, pain and mood were recorded. Most variables showed no significant changes over the menstrual or oral contraceptive cycle. However, for the menstrual cycle group, isokinetic knee flexion at 240° s−1, and time of flight in bilateral hopping and counter movement jumps showed better results during the mid-luteal phase compared with the late follicular phase. For the high-androgenicity oral contraceptive group, isokinetic knee flexion at 240° s−1 was significantly higher in the late hormone phase compared with the early hormone phase. For the low-androgenicity oral contraceptive group, time of flight for the counter-movement jumps was lower in the late hormone phase compared with the early hormone phase. The findings indicate that faster and explosive aspects of muscle performance may be influenced by endogenous and exogenous female hormones.

2019 ◽  
Vol Publish Ahead of Print ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Barba-Moreno ◽  
Rocío Cupeiro ◽  
Nuria Romero-Parra ◽  
Xanne A.K. Janse de Jonge ◽  
Ana B. Peinado

1995 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 197-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ullacarin Wreje ◽  
Per Kristiansson ◽  
Hans Åberg ◽  
Birgitta Byström ◽  
Bo von Schoultz

2004 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 513-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALVIN EISNER ◽  
SARA N. BURKE ◽  
MAUREEN D. TOOMEY

This study was designed to evaluate the hypothesis that hormonal change can affect lower level light-adaptation processes, which are likely to be retinally based. Foveal visual sensitivities were measured across several menstrual cycles of four women not using hormonally acting medication and across several menstrual cycles of three women using a triphasic oral contraceptive. One woman, diagnosed with premenstrual syndrome (PMS), was a subject for both groups. Sensitivities were measured for a series of test wavelengths for 580-nm backgrounds of 2.0 and 4.0 log td. Of the six individuals tested, one had clear evidence of visual-adaptation changes occurring in phase with the menstrual cycle. Prior to using the oral contraceptive, this individual (the PMS subject) experienced changes of short-wavelength-sensitive (SWS)-cone-mediated sensitivities of up to about 1.4 log unit on the 4.0 log td background. Her SWS-cone-mediated sensitivities tended to be highest near ovulation and lowest premenstrually. Threshold-versus-illuminance (TVI) curves confirmed that the rate of sensitivity decrease with increasing background illuminance (i.e. the TVI slope) was greater premenstrually. The degree of background-induced desensitization within her middle-wavelength-sensitive (MWS)/long-wavelength-sensitive (LWS) cone pathways also appeared to vary cyclically, but the magnitude of the variation was smaller and the time course appeared to be different. When this subject began oral contraceptive use, the patterns of sensitivity change were all altered. None of the other five subjects experienced changes of SWS-cone-mediated vision that were cyclic and significantly adaptation-state dependent. However, there was evidence for a limited degree of cyclic adaptation change within the MWS/LWS cone pathways of at least one additional subject. We conclude that hormonal change can—for some unknown proportion of women—be linked to alterations of retinal function. However, the alterations are not the same for all visual pathways, and there are pronounced individual differences. The data also demonstrate that individuals' visual adaptation capabilities can vary substantially over periods of weeks.


2005 ◽  
Vol 288 (1) ◽  
pp. H103-H110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica R. Meendering ◽  
Britta N. Torgrimson ◽  
Belinda L. Houghton ◽  
John R. Halliwill ◽  
Christopher T. Minson

Numerous studies have shown that the female sex hormones estrogen and progesterone have multiple effects on the vasculature. Thus our goal was to investigate the effects of estrogen and progesterone on calf venous compliance by looking for cyclic changes during the early follicular, ovulatory, and midluteal phases of the menstrual cycle and during high and low hormone phases of oral contraceptive use. Additionally, we wanted to compare the venous compliance of normally menstruating women, oral contraceptive users, and men. We studied eight normally menstruating women (23 ± 1 yr of age) during the early follicular, ovulatory, and midluteal phases of the menstrual cycle. Nine triphasic oral contraceptive users (21 ± 1 yr of age) were studied during weeks of high and low hormone concentrations. Eight men (23 ± 1 yr of age) were studied twice within 2–4 wk. With the use of venous occlusion plethysmography with mercury in-Silastic strain gauges, lower limb venous compliance was measured by inflating a venous collection cuff that was placed on the thigh to 60 mmHg for 8 min and then reducing the pressure to 0 mmHg at a rate of 1 mmHg/s. Venous compliance was calculated as the derivative of the pressure-volume curves. There were no differences between early follicular, ovulatory, and midluteal phases of the menstrual cycle or between high and low hormone phases of oral contraceptive use ( P > 0.05). Male venous compliance was significantly greater than in normally menstruating women ( P < 0.001) and oral contraceptive users ( P < 0.002). These data support a sex difference but also suggest that venous compliance does not change with menstrual cycle phase or during the course of oral contraceptive use.


Bone ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 145 ◽  
pp. 115864
Author(s):  
Dan Martin ◽  
Simon B. Cooper ◽  
Jonathan C.Y. Tang ◽  
William D. Fraser ◽  
Craig Sale ◽  
...  

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