Women involved in sports often use oral contraceptives to speed up the recovery of the body. Find out how and why they do it? Most often, the composition of oral contraceptives includes compounds whose structure is close to estradiol and progestogen. In addition to their main purpose, drugs in this group can be used to regulate the menstrual cycle and eliminate its irregularities. At the same time, pill contraceptives are often used to accelerate the body's recovery after training. Today we will consider the use of oral contraceptives in female bodybuilding.
Characteristics of oral contraceptives
To date, three forms of pill contraceptives are available:
- Fixed dosage;
- Daily progestin preparations;
- Combined phase preparations.
Multiphasic drugs contain a certain amount of estrogen and progestin, which are used throughout the menstrual cycle. When using biphasic and three-phase drugs, the progestin dosage is reduced in accordance with the natural physiological process.
The main active components of these drugs: ethinylestradiol and mestranol are synthetic female hormones. In modern drugs, the content of mestranol is significantly reduced in comparison with the first contraceptives. It should also be noted that the third generation drugs that are on sale today are practically free of side effects.
Effects of oral contraceptives on athletic performance
Recently, scientists have conducted several large-scale studies of the effect of pill contraceptives on athletic performance. Since there have been quite serious changes in the composition of the drugs, the earlier studies differ markedly from the latter.
Aerobic performance
To assess the aerobic capacity of the body, the indicator of maximum oxygen consumption is most often used. During normal functioning of the body, changes in hormonal levels do not affect this indicator.
When studying the effect on the body of pill contraceptives, various dosages and types of drugs were used. During the study of the effect of the use of 1 milligram of norethindrone for a short period of time (20 days), changes in the indicators of maximum oxygen consumption were also not revealed. Similar results were obtained in longer experiments using three-phase drugs.
Scientists believe that other factors, such as stroke volume, blood oxygen capacity, etc., can alter aerobic performance. In this regard, a decrease / increase in the indicator may be caused by a change in these factors.
Anaerobic indicators
The situation with the change in anaerobic parameters when using pill contraceptives is somewhat different. Little research has been done in this direction. When using the first generation drugs in experiments, a decrease in strength indicators was noted. It is too early to speak about any exact data and it is necessary to wait for the results of new studies.
The same can be said about the study of the effect of estradiol on muscle tissue damage. At the moment, there is no evidence to support the effect of the main female hormone on creatine kinase under the influence of strength training.
At the same time, there is evidence of delayed muscle pain with contraceptive use. So far, scientists cannot explain the mechanisms of this phenomenon. A study was also carried out on muscle damage when exposed to eccentric contractions. For these purposes, running uphill was used for half an hour. The representatives of two groups (control and experimental) showed an increase in the concentration of creatine kinase and the degree of muscle pain. In sportswomen taking contraceptives, in comparison with the control group, there was a delay in the onset of pain sensations with a difference of 72 hours.
These results may indicate the protective properties of estradiol against muscle tissue damage. There have been several more studies on this topic, but there are no exact answers to the existing questions yet.
It should be recognized that now women involved in sports are increasingly using pill contraceptives. The effect of these drugs on the physical performance of female athletes has not yet been conclusively established. We can say with confidence that the latest drugs belonging to the third generation are practically free of side effects. This is what became the main reason for the wider use of contraceptives in sports.
The decrease in aerobic performance, which has been observed in several studies, is probably associated with a change in the pattern of blood flow. This, in turn, can be caused by suppression of the sympathetic nervous system, together with a decrease in the concentration of catecholomines in the blood.
Similar changes in the female body are possible during pregnancy. In turn, today there is no evidence base for possible changes in anaerobic indicators when using pill contraceptives. It is possible to change the processes of thermoregulation of the body, which has been confirmed in several studies.
It should be noted that similar phenomena occur in the body under the influence of physical exertion during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. For now, one should not rush to conclusions and it is better to wait for new large-scale studies on this topic. Probably, concrete answers to existing questions will be received soon.
More information about oral contraceptives in this video:
