FIFA is funding a year-long study looking at whether the menstrual cycle is a contributing factor to serious knee injuries in women’s football.
Kingston University made a successful bid to the FIFA Research Scholarship scheme to examine whether monthly hormonal fluctuations contribute to anterior cruciate ligament injuries.
“We want to examine whether athletes may be more predisposed to injuries because of the functional changes in terms of their anatomy and physiology during the menstrual cycle,” said senior lecturer in sport biomechanics Dr Simon Augustus.
“We know hormones fluctuate during different phases of the cycle but we don’t yet know how much of an influence that may have on the risk of injury.”
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The study, which begins in June, will analyse hormone concentrations in blood samples collected from both elite and grassroots women’s footballers, and work with clubs in the south-west London area including Chelsea and Fulham.
Vivianne Miedema, Beth Mead, Leah Williamson and Sam Kerr are among a number of players to have suffered ACL injuries over the past two years.
Research suggests female footballers are between two and six times more likely to suffer ACL injuries than males.
