Study of Hand Grip Strength, Handgrip Endurance and Fatigue in Different Phases of Menstrual Cycle of Adults

Abstract

Introduction: The various menstrual cycle stages affect how physically fit women are. The physiological characteristics of several systems change in response to changes in the blood level of the female sex hormone. Numerous studies have been conducted in various regions of the world to correlate the impact of hormones on exercise performance, particularly muscular strength and rate of tiredness throughout various periods of the menstrual cycle. However, many of these studies have shown conflicting results. The purpose of this study was to assess young adults' hand grip endurance, strength, and rate of exhaustion throughout different menstrual cycle stages.
Materials and Methods: This prospective research was carried out on medical students. 44 healthy adult female volunteers, ages 18 to 24, who had regular, healthy menstrual cycles lasting between 26 and 32 days on average during the previous six months. Mosso's ergograph was used to calculate work performed and exhaustion rate, while handgrip dynamometer strength was used to determine muscle strength. Each patient had two menstrual cycles of evaluation in each of the three phases— “Phase 1: Menstrual Phase, Phase 2: Follicular Phase, and Phase 3: Luteal Phase” — consecutively. One-way ANOVA, followed by a post-hoc Turkeys test, was used to analyse the collected data. A p-value of 0.001 or below was regarded as significant.
Results: Handgrip strength was found to be highest in follicular or proliferative phase of menstruation and the difference between the phases is statistically significant (P 0.001).
Conclusion: It was determined that the cyclical fluctuation in female reproductive hormones effects muscular strength, and it is obvious that muscle strength and endurance increase during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle.