Female Athlete Health
A healthy female athlete is one who can consistently train and perform to the best of their capacity, avoiding lost time to sport from illness or injury.
Female athletes are unique in that female hormones can influence the immune system, energy, metabolism, mental status, gut health, and the musculoskeletal system – thereby impacting both training and performance.
The Healthy Athlete Project looks to raise awareness of female health-related issues in sport and provide education to athletes, coaches, whanau and support staff on how best to support female athletes. Topics covered include:
Puberty and Development
Physical, emotional and social changes​
Meeting energy needs in female athletes
LEA (Low Energy Availability)
RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports)
Load and Recovery
How much is too much?
Life stages in the female athlete
Perimenopause
Menopause
The Menstrual Cycle
What is “normal”?
When to seek help
The warning signs of unbalanced health in sport
How to spot red flags
Who is at risk?
Injury in the female athlete
Common injury presentations
Gender differences in MSK injury
Top tips for coaches
What do our coaches need to know?