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Research suggests that women taking the combined pill seem less likely to tear a key ligament of the knee.
Injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament of the knee are common, especially in athletes, where such injuries sometimes end a career.
In November, the English footballer Jordan Nobbs tore his ACL and excluded him from this year's World Cup.
ACL tears are known to be more common in women than men, with previous research suggesting that fluctuations in hormones during the menstrual cycle, including estrogen, may play a role in increasing ACL clearance and making it more susceptible to injury.
But some research has suggested that hormonal contraceptives could mitigate such an effect – and researchers now say that they have added to this evidence.
"[Oral contraceptive] the use could be a potential way to alter the increased risk that estrogen changes can have on ACL tears, "said Dr. Steven DeFroda, first author of the Brown University study in the United States , adding that researchers "protective effect" changes if different levels or combinations of hormones are used.
DeFroda and his colleagues wrote in the journal Physician and Sportsmedicine that they had reviewed insurance claims data in the United States between 2007 and 2017 for women aged 15 to 49 years.
From there, they were able to compare ACL injury rates in patients who recently prescribed the combination pill – which contains synthetic versions of estrogen and progesterone hormones – with age-matched individuals with body mass index and a general state of health, but not doing it. have such an order.
The team found that ACL reconstruction surgeries were more common among women without a prescription, with 569 reconstructions out of 82,874 women, compared to 465 operations out of 82,874 women with such a prescription. When the team took a closer look, she found that it was mainly due to differences in injury rates among women ages 15 to 19.
Researchers said this could be explained by the fact that women in this age group are more likely than older women to be active or physically active, while women in this age group are more likely than older women to be active or physically active. a smaller proportion of young women typically took the pill, potentially increasing their risk of injury compared to older women. As a result, any difference between pills or not could be more apparent in younger women.
While not recommending that female athletes start taking the pill to protect themselves from knee injuries, DeFroda said they might want to discuss these benefits when choosing a contraceptive.
"We should consider prescribing [the pill] to younger athletes, after a careful assessment of the risks of these commonly prescribed drugs, "wrote the authors.
The study, however, had limitations, including the fact that it was unclear whether people who had a prescription for the pill took it when they were injured. It was also unclear whether women with prescriptions had the same level of activity as those who did not, and the study did not examine the ACL lesions that do not need surgery.
Jim Thornton, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Nottingham, said it was too early to recommend that women take the pill to reduce the risk of injury, stressing that 39 Other factors may explain why non-pills had higher ACL injury. rates. He added that some women might not take the pill because of a loss of menstruation resulting from intense physical activity – which in itself could increase their risk of injury.
Nicola Maffulli, consultant trauma and orthopedic surgeon and professor of sports medicine and exercise at Queen Mary University in London, said that hormonal variations could play a role in the rate of knee injuries in women – and that the pill could reduce these variations.
But he also called for caution against women taking the pill to reduce the risk of knee injury, pointing out that any drug could have negative side effects.
"Neuromuscular training or proprioception is inexpensive and sport-specific, and is very effective in preventing anterior cruciate ligament lesions in women: it should be the first stop for women who practice sport and want reduce their risk of ACL injury, "he said. "They should not be recommended to start taking the pill to decrease their chances of tearing their ACLs."
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