ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sports Act. Living
Sec. Women in Sport
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fspor.2025.1642415
This article is part of the Research TopicOptimizing Women's Health through Exercise Prescription and Physiological Assessments across Life StagesView all articles
Characteristics of the Menstrual Cycle and Hormonal Contraceptive Use in Elite Spanish Basketball Players
Provisionally accepted
- 1Helse Fisioterapia, Zaragoza, Spain
- 2Former Spanish Basketball Federation, Madrid, Spain
- 3Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Pozuelo de Alarcn, Spain
- 4Hospital Álvaro Cunqueiro, Vigo, Spain
- 5Sports and Exercice Medicine Unit Hospital Clinic y Sant Joan de Dèu, Barcelona, Spain
- 6FC Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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Introduction: Previous research has shown how menstrual-related symptoms (e.g., abdominal cramps, tiredness/fatigue) can limit athletes' ability to train. Nonetheless, the specific characteristics of the menstrual cycle (MC) and their relationship with performance, well-being, and injuries in athletes are not well understood. This cross-sectional study aimed to better understand the characteristics of the MC (menarche, length, dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, etc.) and the use of hormonal contraceptives among the elite Spanish basketball players. Methods: A total of 228 healthy elite female basketball players from both first division and second division of the Spanish league were included in this cross-sectional study. Subjects were assessed for MC characteristics using a validated questionnaire. Results: The menarche age in the study population was 13.21 ± 1.55 years. The majority of players (78.51%) experienced a regular MC of 27.69 ± 3.78 days, with a range from 17 to 40 days. One hundred ninety-eight out of the 228 players surveyed (86.84%) experienced dysmenorrhea during their periods, and 41.67% took pain medication. Moreover, 77.63% of the players showed symptoms of premenstrual syndrome. Amenorrhea was also reported by 22.81% of them, and 3.51% of the players had been pregnant at some point in their lives. No statistically significant differences were observed when comparing the characteristics of the MC between first and second division players. Less than a quarter of the studied population referred using hormonal contraceptives regularly. Conclusion: MC alterations are prevalent among female basketball players. More research is necessary to understand how this can affect the quality of life, the performance, and the injury susceptibility of female athletes.
Keywords: women´s basketball, Menstrual Cycle, Premenstrual Syndrome, Menstrual symptoms, hormonal contraceptives
Received: 06 Jun 2025; Accepted: 09 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Crespo, Herranz Urbasos, Estella, Morencos, Herranz and Rodas. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Nuria Herranz Urbasos, nuriaherranzurbasos@gmail.com
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