If you’ve trained for a marathon or half marathon, you’re well acquainted with the dangers of shin splints, pulled muscles, and joint injuries.

And you probably take deliberate care to avoid them.

But it may surprise you to learn female distance runners face a little-known health risk that can have serious, even permanent, consequences.

I’m talking about Female Athlete Triad (FAT).

A recent article in the Journal Of Women’s Health Physical Therapy defines the condition by its three components: “low energy availability, menstrual dysfunction, and low bone density”. Those components form a chain reaction of problems that build on each other. Unchecked, each one can lead to long-term health issues from hormonal imbalance to lowered metabolism and immunities, to osteoporosis. But it’s easily ignored by those who suffer from it, and misdiagnosed by their doctors.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – pelvic pain isn’t in your head, it’s in your muscles.

But could it also be in your birth control?

That’s one of many questions a team of scientists from the European Society of Sexual Medicine set out to answer recently by taking a comprehensive look at the current body of research on how hormonal contraception can affect female sexuality.

Sadly, the first takeaway is no surprise. We need more research – a lot more. And of all the different facets of female sexuality they examined, pelvic floor and urological symptoms got the least attention from the scientific community.

What did you discuss with your healthcare provider at your last OB-Gyn appointment?

Hard truth – there’s a good chance your answer depends on your skin color.

The disturbing statistics about increased COVID risks for people of color shed much needed light on systemic injustice in our healthcare system; but you may not realize the problem extends to almost every facet of women’s health, from yearly check-ups to frightening mortality rates in pregnancy and childbirth. A recent survey of nearly 1,700 white and black, non-Hispanic women aged 18-49 pulls back the exam room curtain, indicating a double standard that often leaves women of color underserved and medically vulnerable to several risks.