Date of Award
Winter 4-25-2024
Thesis Access
Open Access Honors Thesis
Thesis Location
Honors College Thesis
Degree Name
B.S.
Department
Kinesiology and Pedagogy
Faculty Advisor
Dr. Tamara Hew-Butler
Abstract
The Female Athlete Triad is still an ongoing and developing diagnosis that analyzes low energy availability, and its impact on menstrual dysfunction and bone mineral density in women. Through researching I analyzed what the Female Athlete Triad was, how it impacts our body and performance, and specifically how it relates to bone stress injuries. It was found that athletes with low energy availability are more likely to develop menstrual dysfunction, leading to low bone mineral density due to the negative impacts that both low energy availability and menstrual dysfunction have on important hormones. With low bone mineral density and compensations to the body’s normal mechanism for bone repair, bone stress injuries are expected and more likely to occur. Furthermore, when looking at sport-specific cases the Female Athlete Triad was found to be prevalent in lean and endurance-based sports but is not limited to any sport and can be found in any female athlete. Prevention and treatment of the Female Athlete Triad will vary case to case based on the source of low energy availability but comes downs to an increase in nutritional intake so that it meets the athletes’ energy expenditure needs both physically and physiologically.
Recommended Citation
Nguyen, Amanda, "Female Athlete Triad and Bone Stress Injuries" (2024). Honors College Theses. 90.
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/honorstheses/90
