ArticleBritish journal of sports medicine2005
Does oral contraceptive use affect maximum force production in women?
Article in British journal of sports medicine, 2005. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 29 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Beyond birth control: how oral contraceptives impact skeletal muscle health: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2026Pooled it
- The Effect of Monophasic Oral Contraceptives on Muscle Strength and Markers of Recovery After Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage: A Systematic Review.Sports health · 2023Pooled it
- The Effects of Menstrual Cycle Phase on Exercise Performance in Eumenorrheic Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2020Pooled it
- The Effects of Oral Contraceptives on Exercise Performance in Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2020Pooled it
- Hormonal profiles of eumenorrheic women compared to hormonal intrauterine device users.Physiological reports · 2026Article
- Changes in androgen profile over the menstrual cycle and hormonal contraceptive phases in physically active females.BMC women's health · 2026Article
- Non-local Muscle Fatigue in Young and Middle-Aged Women following Fast-Paced Walking.International journal of exercise science · 2026Article
- Association between perimenstrual symptoms and static balance in young women: a preliminary longitudinal observational study.BMC women's health · 2025Observational
- Article
- Exercise performance at different phases of the menstrual cycle: measurements, differences, and mechanisms - a narrative review.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Review
- Effects of Hormonal Contraception and the Menstrual Cycle on Fatigability and Recovery From an Anaerobic Exercise Test.Journal of strength and conditioning research · 2024Article
- The hormonal profile in women using combined monophasic oral contraceptive pills varies across the pill cycle: a temporal analysis of serum endogenous and exogenous hormones using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectroscopy.American journal of physiology. Endocrinology and metabolism · 2024Article
- Effects of the Menstrual Cycle and Hormonal Contraceptive Use on Metabolic Outcomes, Strength Performance, and Recovery: A Narrative Review.Metabolites · 2024Review
- The oral contraceptive cycle and its influences on maximal and submaximal endurance parameters in elite handball players.Frontiers in physiology · 2024Article
- Article
- Postural sway is not affected by estrogen fluctuations during the menstrual cycle.Physiological reports · 2023Article
- Effects of orally administered hormonal contraceptives on the musculoskeletal system of healthy premenopausal women-A systematic review.Health science reports · 2022Review
- Effects of oral contraceptive use on muscle strength, muscle thickness, and fiber size and composition in young women undergoing 12 weeks of strength training: a cohort study.BMC women's health · 2022Article
- The Effect of the Menstrual Cycle and Oral Contraceptive Cycle on Muscle Performance and Perceptual Measures.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- The Specificities of Elite Female Athletes: A Multidisciplinary Approach.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo examine the effects of oral contraceptive use on maximum force production in young women.
methodsIn the study, 21 female subjects (14 pill users and seven eumenorrheic controls) took part. All pill using subjects had been taking a combined, monophasic oral contraceptive pill for at least 6 months. Maximum dynamic and isometric leg strength, maximum isometric strength of the first dorsal interosseus (FDI) muscle, and plasma concentrations of oestradiol and progesterone were measured on days 7 and 14 of pill consumption and day 5 of pill withdrawal. The eumenorrheic group was tested (FDI strength and hormone concentrations) on days 2 and 21 of the menstrual cycle.
resultsThere were no significant changes in the concentration of endogenous oestradiol or progesterone or any measure of muscle strength between pill phases (p<0.05). The pill group did not significantly differ from the eumenorrheic group (p<0.05), despite a significant increase in the concentration of progesterone and oestradiol on day 21 of the menstrual cycle compared with day 2 of the menstrual cycle and pill consumption and withdrawal (p<0.05).
conclusionsThese data suggest that oral contraceptive use does not significantly affect muscle strength. Moreover, oral contraceptive users were not stronger or weaker than their eumenorrheic counterparts.
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Registered trials
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