Female Athlete Triad

Some of you might have heard of the female athlete triad before. This condition is seen in all sports, but mainly seen in running and gymnastics. The triad combines these three issues- eating disorders, amenorrhoea, and osteoporosis. Typically if the athlete is suffering from one of these issues, then good chance they are suffering from the other two as well. Some of the symptoms of this triad are fatigue, hastened recovery from workouts, bone fractures, weight loss, anemia, bradycardia, as well as hypersensitivity to cold. Who is the most at risk? The highest incidence occurs in highschool and college age. Most of the time the triad occurs when athlete’s are trying to maintain a certain weight for competition or get there too quickly or maybe try and hold this “peak” weight for too long. Often times, low self-esteem and depression accompany’s this triad. So the million dollar question is “how can this all be treated?” or maybe even avoided at all costs? This can be a tricky question but these young females need to have a coach that is in tune with their athlete’s personal lives without going over-board on this. Getting to know the personalities of the athlete’s and what cues to look for as well as constantly monitoring their overall health with regards to the task in their respective sport. The parents need to get involved as well with regards to current blood analysis as well as their child’s psyche on a daily basis.