Spotting After Running? A Complete Guide To Bloody Discharge After Running

Problems and concerns related to the menstrual cycle are quite common among women athletes who perform excessive training on a daily basis. Those who experience vaginal spotting after engaging in a structured running plan often blame the strenuous physical activity.

In this guide, we try to understand the implications of spotting after running and find out the possible reasons for the problem. We also discuss the possible solutions and considerations for women who encounter any such issues.

 

Spotting After Running? Here’s What It Means

Vaginal spotting is bleeding occurring from the vagina at any time between your monthly menstruation cycle. It is a common problem in teenagers and women who are about to experience menopause. Vigorous running can result in spotting between periods, changes in the flow at the time of period, or even delayed or missed period.
Running and other forms of exercise can lead to changes in your hormone levels that interfere with the cyclic build-up and the breaking of your uterus lining. In a response to the hormonal signals, your uterus lining can shed randomly and cause spotting. This bleeding can be bright or dark red in color. It is generally seen during or just after a strenuous exercise.

While there is no direct connection between spotting and running, you can blame several causes for this problem. It can either be associated with a disordered endometrium or structural changes in the uterus lining or cervix. Sometimes, the increase in abdominal pressure caused due to running can lead to bleeding from cervical polyps, uterine fibroids and endometrial polyps.

Bleeding After Running On Treadmill – What You Should Know?

A lot of athletic women complain about vaginal bleeding and other problems after rigorous exercises. Running on a treadmill for a long time on a regular basis can also cause bleeding between periods, heavier or lighter flow during periods or delayed and even missed periods. These types of problems are associated with increased physical activity, disrupted hormonal balance as well as weight loss from strenuous exercise.

While research does not establish a link between vaginal bleeding and running or other forms of exercise, it is common for runners to experience such problems. When you run on the treadmill on a daily basis, the exercise as well as weight loss resulting from the exercise cause changes in hormonal levels in the body that lead to bleeding or spotting along with other changes in periods.

The treatment for bleeding after running depends on what stage of life you are in. Those athletes who are near their menopause phase can benefit from hormone replacement therapy while premenopausal women may use medications to regulate their hormone function. These treatments are ideal for women who want to maintain their extreme workout regime.

To treat the problem caused by excessive weight loss from running, it is advisable to modify the diet and workout routine. This means you should modify your exercise routine to see if bleeding comes to a halt. You need not stop running on the treadmill to deal with this problem.

 

Seeing Bloody Discharge After Running

Some women report seeing bloody discharge after running, particularly if they were not so active before. While it is commendable to get into an active lifestyle, it can give some shock to your system. Such an effect is seen in women who are not nearing their menopause. Getting active can bring significant hormonal changes in your system and cause such problems including bloody discharge.

Intense exercise like running can increase the levels of reproductive hormones in the body, resulting in problems such as spotting between periods and delayed menstruation. These women should expect to get rid of the issue once their body gets used to the workout routine. If the problem continues for a long time, there can be some other underlying cause that should be addressed.

Seeing bloody discharge after running and menstrual irregularities are not uncommon among women who exercise. However, it is not always the exercise that causes the problem. Lesions or cysts in the uterus, vagina or cervix are responsible for vaginal bleeding at times. It can also result from problems associated with blood clotting. It is just that running makes you aware of the underlying problem.

Spotting After Running While Pregnant – What You Should Be Aware Off

Exercise like running is most often advantageous for pregnant women. However, spotting after exercise can be alarming. While moderate spotting after running while pregnant is harmless, it is important to be aware of any warning signs for a serious issue. Spotting can occur due to several reasons and the actual cause depends on the trimester.

A majority of women experience spotting during the first trimester because of implantation or the attachment of the foetus to the uterine wall. Such vaginal bleeding is absolutely normal and can occur for up to four weeks after your last period. Continuous bleeding, however, indicates chances of miscarriage or some other problem in the pregnancy and should be reported.

Spotting after running in the second and third trimester is not so common and should be addressed seriously. Such women should report the problem to the doctor and should limit the exercise to resolve the issue. The healthcare provider can perform an examination to ensure that the spotting is harmless and instruct further. Depending on the findings, he can advise a safe exercise for the rest of the pregnancy.

Pink Discharge After Running

Seeing vaginal discharge after running is a relatively common problem among active women. This type of spotting can be different from normal period bleeding. Sometimes, athletic women see pink discharge after running or doing other forms of exercise. This type of menstrual problem can occur for several reasons and most of them are not so serious.

A bacterial or yeast infection can sometimes cause a pink discharge, whether or not you perform strenuous activity. Athletes who are transitioning into menopause often see such discharge due to impacted levels of reproductive hormones. Such imbalances can also lead to cysts in the ovaries or cervix and cause unexpected discharge and other problems including pain and bloating.

Sometimes, such a discharge notifies of an underlying deficiency occurring from overtraining that results in chronic fatigue. When this occurs, you develop nutritional deficiencies such as anemia and see menstrual cycle irregularities and spotting after exercise. To deal with such problems, you can rely on blood tests and supplements and consider lowering the intensity of workouts.