The Effect Of The Menstrual Cycle On Vertical Jump And Handgrip Strength

The female menstrual cycle is a complex physiological process characterized by distinct hormonal fluctuations across its phases (menstruation, follicular phase, ovulation, and luteal phase). Emerging research has explored the potential impact of these hormonal variations on various aspects of female physiology, including exercise performance. PURPOSE: To determine if vertical jump and handgrip strength are affected by the menstrual cycle. METHODS: Eight females (20.5 ± 0.5 year) who had regular menstrual cycle and were free of hormonal contraceptive visited the lab 7 times. The visits were in the following phases: menstruation (M): 24 and 96 hours after the first signs of menstruation, Follicular (F): 24 and 72 hours after the end menstruation, Ovulation (O): within 24 hours of positive ovulation test, and Luteal (L): 5 and 10 days after ovulation. On each day the participants performed a vertical jump assessment and an isometric hand grip test on handgrip dynamometer with the highest value recorded. If there were two measurements for the phase, the measurements were averaged and a repeated measures ANOVA was run to determine differences between phases. RESULTS: For vertical jump height there was no significant difference between phases (F = 0.9, P = 0.4) with the values for each phase (mean ± SD), M: 252.1 ± 15.1, F: 254.0 ± 14.4, O: 250.2 ± 15.4, L: 252.1 ± 19.1 cm. For grip strength there was no significant difference between phases (F = 0.9, P = 0.5) with the values for each phase (mean ± SD), M: 39.2 ± 8.2, F: 40.6 ± 8.1, O: 42.6 ± 9.2, L: 42.3 ± 6.5 kg. CONCLUSION: Across menstrual cycle phases, participants exhibited consistent performance levels in both vertical jump and handgrip strength assessments. These results suggest that, for this specific group of females, the hormonal fluctuations associated with the menstrual cycle did not exert a notable influence on these aspects of physical performance. It is crucial to acknowledge the potential variability among individuals, and the limitations of our study, such as the relatively small sample size. Future research endeavors could benefit from larger and more diverse participant groups to further explore potential individual differences in the relationship between the menstrual cycle and physical performance.