Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42506840›Full record

ReviewSports (Basel, Switzerland)2026

The Influence of the Phases of the Menstrual Cycle on Intrinsic Injury Risk Factors in Eumenorrheic Female Athletes or Physically Active Women-A Systematic Review.

Florent Osmani, Marta Victoria Santiago, Oliver Ramos-Álvarez

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Sports (Basel, Switzerland), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Florent OsmaniFacultad en Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Europea del Atlántico, 39011 Santander, Spain.ORCID 0000-0003-4822-0179
Marta Victoria SantiagoFacultad en Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Europea del Atlántico, 39011 Santander, Spain.ORCID 0009-0004-0767-6377
Oliver Ramos-ÁlvarezResearch Group on Technology Applied to Research in Employment, Equality and Health (Talionis), University of A Coruña, 15403 A Coruña, Spain.ORCID 0000-0001-7255-1555

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Research in sports science has frequently excluded women due to the complexity of hormonal fluctuations. The overall aim of this study is to systematically analyse the influence of the menstrual cycle (MC) on intrinsic anatomical, biomechanical and neuromuscular injury risk factors in physically active women or eumenorrheic athletes.

methodsA systematic review was conducted following the guidelines of the PRISMA 2020 statement. Searches were carried out in PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science and Scopus up to March 2026, including studies that analysed at least three phases of the MC. Methodological quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute checklists.

resultsEleven articles were included in the analysis. It was observed that the late follicular and ovulatory phases were associated with improved biomechanical and neuromuscular profiles, thereby reducing certain risk factors. In contrast, the premenstrual and menstrual phases are associated with a more unfavourable effect, slightly increasing the risk of injury.

conclusionAlthough phase-specific trends emerge, methodological heterogeneity and limited evidence preclude a definitive consensus on how the menstrual cycle impacts intrinsic injury risk factors. Nevertheless, practitioners should consider that late follicular and ovulatory phases present more favourable neuromuscular and biomechanical profiles than menstrual and premenstrual phases. Future research must utilize standardized phase verification to provide conclusive evidence.

Indexed as

biomechanicsjoint stabilityneuromuscular controloestrogenspreventionprogesteronesex hormonessports medicine

Identifiers

PMID42506840
PMCPMC13416997

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.