The Female Handball Player

Abstract

Female hormones fluctuate in concentrations during the menstrual cycle. This has triggered speculations among athletes, coaches, as well as researchers about the hormonal changes that lead to variations in athletic performance and adaptation to training. Many athletes, as in the general population, use oral contraceptives. This has raised questions concerning the suppression of the endogenous circulating female hormones and if the administration of synthetic hormones may have negative impact on athletic performance and training adaptations - or the opposite. This chapter is aiming at giving the reader a brief insight into the present knowledge about the influence of female hormones on muscle strength and power, aerobic and anaerobic capacity and performance. Based on female handball players who are in an enhanced risk of sustaining anterior cruciate ligament ruptures, this chapter will also discuss the present knowledge in regard to how the female hormones influence ligament and tendon biomechanical properties. Other modifiable risk factors in the female athlete will also be presented, and specific preventable training for female handball players will be suggested. Finally, since many female athletes have dietary concerns related to fear for body fat gain, this chapter will finally present the present knowledge about effects of low energy availability. Energy availability is defined as the ingested energy remaining for all other metabolic processes after the energy cost of training has been subtracted. Low energy availability is common among elite female handball players and may negatively influence both short- and long-term health, but also performance capacity.