Hormonal contraception has the potential to affect your performance as a female athlete in several ways.  So, let’s dive in… 

The hormonal profile of someone on hormonal contraception is vastly different from the rise and fall in hormones experienced across the menstrual cycle. Additionally, in some types of hormonal contraception, such as the combined oral contraceptive pill, there is a difference in hormonal profile between the likes of pill-taking and pill-free days. And all this matters for female athletes. In fact, this entirely different hormonal profile, compared to the menstrual cycle as well as the changes within each type of hormonal contraception, might affect overall sports performance, as well as the likes of how our bodies adapt to training, as well as recover from exercise! 

Please note: Most studies have focused on the combined oral contraceptive pill use and its potential effects on performance, with very few studies investigating the various other different types of hormonal contraception. 

Can we link changes in our golf performance to hormonal contraceptive use? 

It’s important to remember that so far, no studies have investigated the effect of hormonal contraceptive use specifically on golf performance. But to help us answer this question we can look at the other research that exists across a wide range of different sports and activities.  

In fact, a team of researchers from Northumbria University have already done this for us by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis on this topic in 2020 – which basically means they took all the studies so far, investigating one type of hormonal contraception – the combined oral contraceptive pill – on performance, and put them all together in one big analysis[1]. 

Out of the 42 studies, they found they showed a slight decrease in performance in those taking the combined oral contraceptive pill compared to those who were naturally menstruating. The authors also showed no difference in performance between pill-taking and pill-free days. That said, the authors concluded that due to the really small effect and the poor quality of the research, general guidelines on exercise performance with combined oral contraceptive pill use could not be formed. Instead, the authors recommended that it is better to take an individualised approach to combined oral contraceptive pill use. 

So, the key takeaway is that some of us might notice changes in our golf performance with hormonal contraceptive use but some of us won’t notice any changes at all. And the best way to figure this out is by collecting your own data through tracking your hormonal contraceptive use. 

References

[1]Elliott-Sale, K. J., McNulty, K. L., Ansdell, P., Goodall, S., Hicks, K. M., Thomas, K., ... & Dolan, E. (2020). The effects of oral contraceptives on exercise performance in women: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 50(10), 1785-1812.