Effect of Menstrual Cycle and Hormonal Contraception on Musculoskeletal Health and Performance: Protocol for a Prospective Cohort Design and Cross-Sectional Comparison

Sarah J Myers   ^{1 *} , BSc ;   Rebecca L Knight   ^{1 *} , BSc ;   Sophie L Wardle   ^{1, 2 *} , PhD ;   Kirsty AM Waldock   ¹ , PhD ;   Thomas J O'Leary   ^{1, 2} , PhD ;   Richard K Jones   ³ , PhD ;   Paul E Muckelt   ^{4, 5} , MSc ;   Anton Eisenhauer   ^{6, 7} , PhD ;   Jonathan CY Tang   ^{8, 9} , PhD ;   William D Fraser   ^{8, 10} , MD ;   Julie P Greeves   ^{1, 2, 8} , PhD

¹ Army Health and Performance Research, Army Headquarters, Andover, United Kingdom

² Division of Surgery & Interventional Science, University College London, London, United Kingdom

³ School of Health and Society, University of Salford, Salford, United Kingdom

⁴ School of Health Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom

⁵ Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, National Institute for Health and Care Research, Southampton, United Kingdom

⁶ GEOMAR Helmholtz-center for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany

⁷ Osteolabs, Kiel, Germany

⁸ Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom

⁹ Clinical Biochemistry, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Norwich, United Kingdom

¹⁰ Departments of Diabetes and Endocrinology, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Norwich, United Kingdom

*these authors contributed equally