--- title: Is knee ligament injury more likely at certain phases of the menstrual cycle? description: Yes. Female athletes were more likely to injure their knee ligament during the ovulatory phase and less likely during the follicular phase. url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/association-between-the-menstrual-cycle-and-anterior-cruciate-ligament-injuries-1998/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Is knee ligament injury more likely at certain phases of the menstrual cycle? Survey study, 1998 # Is knee ligament injury more likely at certain phases of the menstrual cycle? Yes. Female athletes were more likely to injure their knee ligament during the ovulatory phase and less likely during the follicular phase. Early or limited evidence 40 female athletes with acute ACL injuries (28 met full study criteria, average age 23 years) ## What they did Researchers studied 40 female athletes with acute knee ligament (ACL) injuries that occurred within 3 months. Of these, 28 met the study criteria (regular periods and non-contact injury). They tracked which phase of the menstrual cycle each injury occurred in. ## What they found More ACL injuries occurred during the ovulatory phase (days 10-14 of the cycle) than would be expected by chance. Significantly fewer injuries occurred during the follicular phase (days 1-9) than expected. ## What it means for you Hormones appear to affect knee ligament stability and injury risk, with ovulation being a higher-risk time. Female athletes might use this information when planning training and competition timing. The main limit is that only 28 women met the full study criteria, and all were athletes, so it's unclear if these findings apply to all women or to non-athletes. 40 Female athletes with ACL injuries 28 Met study criteria 23 Average age in years ## About the study Original title Association between the menstrual cycle and anterior cruciate ligament injuries in female athletes Authors Wojtys EM, Huston LJ, Lindenfeld TN et al. Journal The American journal of sports medicine Year 1998 Study design Survey study Participants 40 What was tested Observational tracking of menstrual cycle phase at time of injury Read the paper [doi.org/10.1177/03635465980260050301](https://doi.org/10.1177/03635465980260050301) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Athletes and sport](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-athletes/) Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits. Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor. ## Related studies Systematic review, 2025 Are PMS and PMDD more common in highly trained female athletes than in women who don't train intensively? Systematic review, 2025 Do different types of exercise help with PMS? Systematic review, 2023 How common are menstrual cycle problems and PMS or PMDD in female athletes? Survey study, 2026 Does stress affect premenstrual symptoms in female athletes, and can coping strategies help? Cohort study, 2026 Does the menstrual cycle phase affect how much physical activity women do? Survey study, 2025 How common is PMS in adolescent female athletes? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗