Treatment of Female Athlete Triad
Treatment of female athlete triad involves a multidisciplinary approach addressing psychological, physiological and dietary concerns. Since the constituent parts of the triad like osteoporosis, amenorrhea and eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa accelerates each others’ impact constituting a feedback effect all the three are to be addressed with equal emphasis.
Pre- Requisites in the Treatment of Female Athlete Triad
Information regarding the following factors is a prerequisite for the treatment of female athlete triad.
Mental Stress
Since female Athlete triad is in part caused by the psycho- social pressures to maintain optimum level of performance , a record of the psychological condition of the athlete is a prerequisite for diagnosing and treating the disease.
Clinical Record
The athlete has to be checked for instances of diseases like diabetes, thyroid problems, hormone imbalances and fractures to pinpoint the exact nature of the disease. Hormonal imbalance has an adverse effect on bone mineral density and may thumb point to the chances of the potential occurrence of female athlete triad. Similarly information regarding menstrual cycles is vital for the diagnosis of amenorrhea.
Nutritional Calendar
The nutritional calendar of the athlete can reveal valuable information like the intake of calcium, Vitamin D and carbohydrate consumption which are essential for maintaining the bone mineral density. The shortage of these may be indicative of eating disorders when analyzed against the backdrop of female athlete triad.
High Intensity Training Sessions
Information regarding the high intensity training sessions that the athlete has undergone conveys vital information about the fatigue, and physical stress. A negative ratio of energy spent and energy consumed can make the athlete at risk of female athlete triad.
Treatment of Female Athlete Triad
Female Athlete Triad can be treated if detected on early stages. The treatment involves the following stages.
Restoring the Nutritional Requirements of the Athlete
Since nutritional deficiency is one of the major aggravating factors of female athlete triad, help should be sought from a nutritionist to restore the calcium, Vitamin D and glycogen levels. It is of paramount importance since much of the energy deficiency caused by anorexia nervosa can be addressed in this way.
Addressing the Anxieties and Stress
Physiological approach should be combined with a psychological approach aimed at reducing the mental stress and anxieties of the athlete.
Restoration of the Bone Mineral Density
Bone mineral density is considerably low in athletes with female athlete triad. One reason for this is the shortage of calcium and Vitamin D which may also result in osteoporosis or osteopenia (decalcification) in the long run. Restoring bone mineral density is never easy if the patients are old. However estrogen replacement therapy is normally used to increase BMD.
Treating Menstrual Irregularities
Treating amenorrhea (absence of menstruation) and fluctuations in menstrual cycle assume a significant part of the treatment of female athlete triad. In treating amenorrhea estrogen replacement is normally followed.
Treating Eating Disorders
Treatment of eating disorders is done combining a physiological and psychological approach. A nutritionist’s help is sought to fix the diet and psychological counseling is done to help the athlete come out the eating disorders.
In short treatment of female athlete triad should be done in a multidisciplinary way to ensure the recovery of the patient.
Source: American Family Physicians