Female hormones influence sports performance and sports-related injures. Hormones affect the entire neuromusculoskeletal system. While hormones are relatively stable in males, there are distinct monthly fluctuations of hormones during the menstrual cycle as well as changes in hormone concentration during the female life stages of pre-puberty, puberty, childbearing and menopause. Hormonal imbalance can easily happen with the increased demands of physical activity and lead to irregular or missed menstrual cycles, heavy bleeding, PMS (cramping, bloating, gas, diarrhea, mood swings, loss of mojo, headaches), infertility, acne, body weight fluctuation and difficulty putting on muscle. Hormonal contraception can hinder performance in various ways. The good news is, you can get your hormones back in balance, stop worrying about having your period during your next big event, and achieve personal bests well into menopause.