{"id":6725,"date":"2023-03-08T15:40:33","date_gmt":"2023-03-08T15:40:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/red-s-pippa-woolvens-experience-and-awareness-activism\/"},"modified":"2023-03-08T15:40:34","modified_gmt":"2023-03-08T15:40:34","slug":"red-s-pippa-woolvens-experience-and-awareness-activism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/red-s-pippa-woolvens-experience-and-awareness-activism\/","title":{"rendered":"Red-S: Pippa Woolven&#8217;s experience and awareness activism"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1\">\n<figure class=\"gs-u-mt0 gs-u-mb-alt+ story-body__media story-body__media--figure qa-story-body-media story-body__media--lead\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$video-1\"><span class=\"gs-u-display-block story-body__media\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$video-1.0\"><span class=\"gs-u-display-block gs-o-responsive-image\" style=\"padding-bottom:56.25%;\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$video-1.0.0\"><noscript data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$video-1.0.0.1\"\/><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"gel-brevier gs-u-ph+ gs-u-pv-alt story-body__media__caption story-body__media__caption--video\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$video-1.1\">Pippa Woolven on the effects of Red-S on her athletics career<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p role=\"introduction\" class=\"qa-introduction gel-pica-bold\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-2\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-2.0\">Pippa Woolven knew something was wrong.<\/span><\/p>\n<div data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-3\">\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-3.0\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-3.0.0\">On an athletics scholarship in the United States, she was supposed to be pursuing her dream. Instead, Woolven was fatigued, had low moods and her performance was going downhill.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-4\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-4.0\">She knew something was wrong, but it took years to find out what.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-5\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-5.0\">Woolven was suffering from Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport. Known as Red-S, the condition occurs when athletes expend more energy in training than they consume through food and drink.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-6\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-6.0\">&#8220;I was suffering for around five years of my athletics career,&#8221; long-distance runner Woolven, 29, told <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/sounds\/play\/p0f7b8jn\" class=\"story-body__internal-link\" title=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-6.$link-2\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-6.$link-2.0\">Women&#8217;s Sport Matters<\/span><\/a><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-6.3\"> &#8211; a Sports Desk podcast special produced with the Open University.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-7\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-7.0\">&#8220;I really struggled to get the diagnosis that I needed [for] years and years. As a consequence, I wound further and further into this energy deficit, developed all sorts of health consequences.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"story-body__crosshead\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$crosshead-9\">What is Red-S?<\/h3>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-10\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-10.0\">Several other sportswomen have spoken about their experience with Red-S, including athletes <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/health-46469538\" class=\"story-body__internal-link\" title=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-10.$link-2\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-10.$link-2.0\">Anna Boniface<\/span><\/a><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-10.3\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/sport\/athletics\/56353786\" class=\"story-body__internal-link\" title=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-10.$link-5\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-10.$link-5.0\">Bobby Clay,<\/span><\/a><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-10.6\"> and mountain bike racer <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/sport\/cycling\/62600029\" class=\"story-body__internal-link\" title=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-10.$link-8\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-10.$link-8.0\">Evie Richards.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-11\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-11.0\">The condition affects both men and women, and can impact levels of oestrogen &#8211; an essential hormone for bone health. As a result of the condition, both Boniface and Clay developed osteoporosis.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-12\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-12.0\">The impact on oestrogen means losing your period can be a warning sign of Red-S. Unfortunately for Woolven, all of the doctors she saw thought it was normal for an athlete training at her level.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-13\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-13.0\">On top of that, she was using the contraceptive pill, which gives women a bleed that is not technically a period as it happens purely because of hormone changes brought about synthetically.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-14\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-14.0\">Woolven, who represented England at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, says doctors &#8220;just encouraged me to keep taking it [the pill] in this false sense of security that it provided of having a real, natural period&#8221;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-15\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-15.0\">She adds training &#8220;should never come at the cost of losing or impacting your menstrual cycle in any way&#8221;.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"story-body__crosshead\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$crosshead-16\">Damaging idea that &#8216;thinner is faster&#8217;<\/h3>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-17\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-17.0\">It took years for Woolven&#8217;s menstrual cycle to recover, but the psychological effects of Red-S were challenging too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-18\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-18.0\">She says she bought into &#8220;the belief system that thinner is faster&#8221;, adding: &#8220;You have to work for a long time to reverse those mindsets that can become so damaging.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-19\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-19.0\">&#8220;We&#8217;re all led to believe in sport that hard work equals reward, but if that is not balanced with adequate rest, recovery and nutrition, you will never reach your potential.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-20\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-20.0\">Open University sport and fitness professor Simon Rea points out that coaches can &#8220;lack control&#8221; in this situation because &#8220;they don&#8217;t really have control over what food is going in before or after training&#8221;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-21\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-21.0\">&#8220;There is this idea that light is best,&#8221; Rea adds.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-22\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-22.0\">&#8220;The lighter they are, the better their performance is going to be. Unfortunately it works for a while as well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-23\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-23.0\">&#8220;They lose weight and they become better but then everything starts crashing down when there is not enough oestrogen available and the bones become brittle.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-24\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-24.0\">Rea believes coaches can play their part.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-25\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-25.0\">&#8220;You can talk to the athlete about what they had to fuel up for the training and what they are going to have to fuel up afterwards,&#8221; he says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-26\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-26.0\">&#8220;If we can open up these conversations and have environments where athletes and coaches can have respect for each other, then these conversations can happen.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-27\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-27.0\">Woolven has founded Project RED-S &#8211; an organisation that works to increase awareness and prevention and support athletes in their recovery.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-28\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-28.0\">Its website highlights some of the key warning signs: unexplained fatigue; recurrent injuries or illness; performance decline; irregular or missing periods; irritability and anxiety around food or weight gain.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-29\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-29.0\">Woolven adds some parting advice: &#8220;Try and zoom out and look at the bigger picture. Look at your performance over the course of five, 10, however many years you want to be enjoying sport for, and not just the short-term success.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-30\"><em data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-30.$italic-0\">If you, or someone you know, have been affected by any issues raised in this article, support and information is available at <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/actionline\/\" class=\"story-body__internal-link\" title=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-30.$link-2\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-30.$link-2.0\">BBC Action Line.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-31\"><em data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-31.$italic-0\">Sports Desk: Women&#8217;s Sport Matters is a special mini-series produced in partnership with the Open University. The four episodes cover periods; sportswear; the psychology of injuries and exercise habits. <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/programmes\/p0f7b8jn\" class=\"story-body__internal-link\" title=\"\" data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-31.$link-2\"><span data-reactid=\".25j4edof0sy.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-31.$link-2.0\">You can listen to them here.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/sport\/64797365?at_medium=RSS&#038;at_campaign=KARANGA\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pippa Woolven on the effects of Red-S on her athletics career Pippa Woolven knew something was wrong. On an athletics scholarship in the United States, she was supposed to be pursuing her dream. Instead, Woolven was fatigued, had low moods and her performance was going downhill. She knew something was wrong, but it took years [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6726,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6725"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6725"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6725\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6727,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6725\/revisions\/6727"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}