This research suggests that heavy menstral bleeding was found to be common in runners of all abilities and was associated with reported negative impacts on performance, iron deficiency and anemia, says Georgie Bruinvels - PhD student at UCL and Research Associate at St Mary's University @gbruinvels via Plos
Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) is common, affecting a quarter of the female population.[1] HMB can negatively impact on physical, emotional and social quality of life and reduce work capacity.[2,3]
Diagnosing HMB can be subjective and definitions include; blood loss of more than 80ml per menstrual cycle or “excessive menstrual blood loss which interferes with a woman’s physical, social, emotional and/or material quality of life”.[3,4] In a recent Europe-wide study a diagnosis of HMB was given if two or more of the following criteria were met; 1. passing of large blood clots, 2. need for double sanitary protection (both towels and tampons), 3. need for frequent changes of tampons and towels (meaning changes every 2 hours or less, or 12 sanitary items per period) and 4. flooding through to clothes or bedding.[1]
MORE by Georgie Bruinvels, Richard Burden, Nicola Brown, Toby Richards and Charles Pedlar
