Being detailed and in tune with your body is very important when athletes are training. It is important that female athletes are conscious of a correct balance between training and recovery. This is especially true for female athletes who train off-ice, play 4-6 games a week and also practice 2 or more times a week. It is extremely important that they have a proper strength and conditioning program as an improper training regimen would be very taxing on the body and can lead to injury. The female athlete triad is a combination of three conditions: disordered eating, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis. A female athlete can have one, two, or all three parts of the triad. Over the next three blog posts, we will discuss all three parts of the female athlete triad.
Triad Factor #1: (Disordered Eating) Most girls with female athlete triad try to lose weight as a way to improve their athletic performance. The disordered eating that accompanies female athlete triad can range from not eating enough calories to keep up with energy demands to avoiding certain types of food the athlete thinks are ”bad” (such as foods containing fat) to serious eating disorders like anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa.