Specialty Care for Female Athletes

You have unique needs when it comes to training, injury, and recovery. Your anatomy and your unique hormonal environment affect how you move and what your metabolism demands of you every day.

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Women athletes and those assigned at birth as female have unique needs when it comes to wellness, training, and recovery from injuries.

For example, they're more prone to concussions and knee injuries like ACL tears.

And they have specific needs when it comes to bone health, nutrition, and menstrual function. All these factors play major roles in athletic performance, risk of injury, and overall health.

University of Iowa Health Care is home to the state's only team of providers offering specialized care for athletes assigned at birth as female. They also serve as team doctors for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

We work with athletes of all ages, abilities, and life stages, including pregnancy and postpartum.

We'll focus on improving your overall wellness and performance, facilitating your recovery from injuries, and minimizing your risk of future injury.

Special expertise in RED-S

UI Health Care sports medicine providers—many of whom are athletes themselves—are experts in treating a condition known as RED-S (relative energy deficiency in sport). This condition is particularly prevalent in female athletes.

What is RED-S?

RED-S is an imbalance between the energy athletes burn and the energy they consume.

This calorie deficit affects many body systems, including hormonal pathways. It can lead to:

Decreased bone density (osteopenia)
Interrupted menstrual periods (amenorrhea)

These conditions can impair your athletic performance over the long term. And you can experience serious problems with your hormones, bones, metabolism, heart, digestive system, and more.

A unique treatment plan

Our team works closely with you to address the causes and effects of RED-S. Your treatment plan focuses on both your health and your performance.

Your customized plan might include:

A nutrition plan that balances your calorie intake and energy output
A training plan for the right level of activity
Counseling to help you adjust your approach to eating and exercise

Optimizing your wellness and performance

Our comprehensive approach to sports medicine puts you at the center of a team of specialists.

Our clinical sports dietitian helps you plan a safe nutrition program to support your performance goals and lifelong wellness.

In addition to your sports medicine provider, other specialists on your team could include:

They work together to help you maximize performance and prevent injuries. They can also help you recover from injury or illness to get back to full function.

Your care team focuses not only on your physical health, but on your mental health, as well.

Our sport and performance psychology specialist helps you build emotional well-being, a productive approach to athletic performance, and a positive mindset when recovering from injury.