Category: Female Athlete Triad

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.