Amenorrhoea :

One of the side-effects of constantly watching your weight while training intensely could be periods irregularities - oligomenorrhoea, or even losing them altogether - amenorrhoea. In 1993, it was estimated that up to 50% of female athletes involved in weight-class sports suffered from one or other of these aliments.

This disorder is caused by a combination of factors – high intensity/high-volume training without enough rest, physical and psychological stress, low body-fat levels ( should not go below 15%) and restricted calorie intake.
Many fighters constantly eat less then they need to maintain a positive energy balance – it is thought that the body reacts to this shortage by "saving " the energy needed for periods by cutting them out.

Physical stress + mental stress + chronic negative energy balance = an increase in cortisol production.

This causes a breakdown in the brain releasing GnHR ( gonadotrophin-hormone ) thus causing low levels of oestrogen, progesterone, and FHS –follicle-stimulating hormone and LH – luteinising hormone.

So, it's clear that amenorrhoea is a clinical state of over training and a condition to be taken very seriously indeed.

Risks !
Long-term, you are increasing the chances of suffering from osteoporosis. Low levels of oestrogen and progesterone means that as the old bone breaks down, its not replaced. And as the bone density lowers, it will offset the increase caused by training and your bones will suffer.

This is especially true for MuayThai athletes, as amenorrhoea lowers bone density and increases the risk of stress fractures and breaks – clashing a stressed shin frequently will inevitably result in a break

Immediate effects can include :
Soft tissue injuries
Stress fractures – and/or micro-fractures.
Prolonged healing of injuries
Reduction in your ability to recover from hard training sessions.
Ligaments are less supple ( due to low oestrogen levels )

Should you be worried ?
If you haven't had a period for 12 weeks or over, you should first visit your GP to ascertain that it is exercise-related. She will then refer you onto a specialist - maybe a sports doctor, a gynaecologist, an endocrinologist or a bone specialist.

You should also take advice from a sports nutritionist ( and maybe a sports psychologist as over training is a state of mind as much as of the body ) They will advise to do a number things in order to re-attain your healthy body-fat levels.

It will probably be necessary to eat more than you think you need and maybe necessary to reduce the intensity of your training for some time. Your body weight often only needs to be increased by 2% to start your period again. Studies undertaken in 1996 show that once treatment is sought (change in diet and in your training regime), that normal periods resume within 3 months and performance increases to previous levels.

Your trainer should be made aware of the need to change your schedule and of exactly why. This illness can have serious long-term effects and needs immediate treatment. Many women are reluctant to seek treatment and even more reluctant to tell a male trainer what is going on – this is something that has to be overcome. If he wants you in the ring, he has to work with you in all areas !

Cutting back on training by as little as 5% can be enough to begin righting the balance. Certainly, boxers have to train to improve but it is in resting that you get stronger. Take a look at your training schedule – include more rest days and maybe every 4 to 6 weeks a total rest.