Abstract:

Introduction: the variation of ovarian hormones during menstruation may impact physical performance in women with a regular cycle; however, the literature does not have a consensus on this hypothesis. Objective: to verify the effect of menstrual cycle on exercise performance using a rapid literature review as a method for synthesizing evidence. Material and Methods: the search criteria for the articles followed the PICO model, and the recommendations for selecting the articles followed the PRISMA adapted for rapid reviews. The search was carried out in the PUBMED database with the combinations “menstrual cycle”, “physical activity”, “performance”, “exercise”, “sports” during August 2019. Results: fourteen articles were selected for inclusion in the review. Five articles showed the effect of menstrual cycle on performance in maximum strength and power exercises with characteristics of high intensity and short duration. Greater performance was in the phase with the highest concentration of ovarian hormones (e.g., estrogen and luteinizing) such as the follicular vs luteal phase. Nine articles demonstrate no effect of menstrual cycle on physical performance. Conclusion: the phases of the menstrual cycle do not seem to impact the physical performance in women in a way that allows a generalization of the findings. There are indications that a higher concentration of ovarian hormones tends to positively impact the physical performance of physically active women, in strength and power exercises. However, the generalization of these results must be interpreted with caution and physical education professionals must individually analyze the effect of the menstrual cycle on their athletes/ clients/patients.

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