Abstract
Researchers are gaining momentum exploring menstruation in sport. Yet, no attempt to synthesize the literature has been made. The purpose of this scoping review was to explore and describe what has been researched and to provide guidelines for future research. Using Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) scoping review framework, 85 articles fit our inclusion criteria. Most research used quantitative methods (58.8%) and cross-sectional designs (72.9%), and was conducted by researchers residing in Westernized countries (77.6%). Study participants (N = 14,705) competed across a wide variety of sports and competition levels. Researchers had explored different aspects of athlete menstruation (e.g., menstrual bleeding, coach experiences, sport performance, the role of hormones), from a range of biological, sociological, psychological, and mixed perspectives. To maintain momentum in this vital research area, six main suggestions are presented to assist in promoting the rigor of research and how we as a scientific community communicate our findings. The recommendations are, in order of importance, 1) center athlete experiences and voices, 2) recognize how taboo(s) and stigma(s) negatively impact the research process, 3) account for the full menstrual cycle including subphases, 4) recognize that menstruation is a complex biopsychosocial experience, and 5) intentionally adopt research methodologies that align with specific topics of interest. Overall, our review shows that the research output focused on athlete menstruation has increased significantly over the last five years, though several opportunities to improve quality still remain.
