Cervical Mucus After Exercise: How it Looks Like & What It Tells

Cervical mucus may say a lot about female health and wellbeing. Its consistency and volume are associated with lifestyle, too. It means that any lifestyle changes might have some impact on cervical mucus production.

Exercise is good for health. Nevertheless, in some cases, it may cause specific unexpected changes in the body. Such changes are significantly more common among those who did not exercise earlier.

Starting to exercise regularly and all of a sudden is stressful for the body. The body needs time to adapt to such changes in lifestyle.

Few things to know about cervical mucus

Females need to keep an eye on mucus volume and consistency for good health. In most cases, minor changes may not indicate anything. Nevertheless, it is one of the most straightforward ways of understanding the body.

• Healthy women produce just a few milliliters of mucus a day, usually just about 4-5 ml so that to keep vaginal lining lubricated and moist.
• The consistency of mucus keeps changing cyclically due to hormonal changes, from dry and sticky to less sticky and a bit watery.
• Cervical mucus plays an important role in preventing vaginal infections.
• There is always a reason for changes in a discharge.
• Physical activity can cause changes in cervical mucus.
• The appearance of cervical mucus is connected to lifestyle choices.
• Most changes in vaginal discharge are minor and do not require any medical attention.

Cervical mucus after exercise

Exercise means lots of sweating, physical stress, loss of fluids. It may also cause some minor hormonal changes. Females who have just started exercising may especially experience such changes. It is because the body requires time to adapt to any kind of lifestyle changes.

Here are some of the possible changes one may experience in cervical mucus after exercise:

• One sees increased watery discharge– in most cases, in the absence of other symptoms, it may mean nothing. It just tells about some changes in the body. In some women, exercise may provoke the cervix and vagina to work more actively, thus causing slightly greater discharge.

For those, lifting heavy weights, even some urinary leakage may be confused with watery discharge. It is vital to understand that women are more likely to suffer from these kinds of issues due to the shorter length of the urinary tract. In such cases, one should focus more on strengthening the lower pelvic floor muscles. It is also a good idea to take frequent bathroom breaks to ensure that the bladder is mostly empty.

• Dry to stickier discharge – it may happen due to many cases. Fortunately, in most cases, there is no reason to worry. In some high endurance sports, with prolonged training sessions, it may occur due to dehydration. Another cause could be just usual monthly changes due to periods, that might be wrongly interpreted as something unusual and due to exercise.
• Changed color and odor – it is something to worry about and seek medical attention, as It may indicate a yeast infection. Studies show that some women who train a lot are more prone to yeast infections. It may happen due to excessive sweating, training in a warm and damp environment.

One of the better-known signs of yeast infection is cottage cheese-like white discharge, along with vaginal itching. Yeast infection is readily treated, even with the help of some over-the-counter medicines. Nevertheless, one should always seek medical attention to exclude other infections that may produce similar signs and symptoms.

• Sports vagina – It is not a medical diagnosis, yet a common term used to describe irritation of the vagina caused by excessive training. Too much high-intensity exercise may cause vaginal itching, redness, and changes in cervical mucus in some women.

Although exercise rarely causes any severe issue nevertheless, those involved in certain physically demanding sports like weightlifting should be more careful.

Lifting heavy weights may cause a more severe condition like pelvic organ prolapse in rare cases. However, such a severe condition can be prevented by regularly doing exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor, like Kegel exercises.

Ways to prevent sports-related changes in cervical mucus

In most cases, even smaller precautions may help prevent any changes in cervical mucus. Thus, one should pay greater attention to hygiene. Women should always take a shower after a prolonged workout.

Paying attention to clothing may also help. One should prefer breathable sportswear, wear cotton underwear. Although tight yoga pants may look better, but in most cases, looser cotton clothes are better.

Another way to prevent local irritation or even infections could be using some kind of ointment before a workout.

Other steps to prevent changes in cervical mucus:

• Stay hydrated by drinking water regularly.
• Pay particular attention to personal hygiene.
• Avoid scented or even certain medicated feminine care products until or unless recommended by a medical specialist.
• Set realistic goals, and avoid over-exertion. In exercise, vital is persistence.
• Supplement exercise with a healthy diet like increasing intake of whole grains, fish, fruits, and so on.
• Using health supplements may help in some cases. However, select them wisely and after doing thorough research.
• Have an adequate sleep, as rest periods are equally vital for achieving health objectives.
• Ensure that the exercise regime is balanced with equal stress on strength building, endurance, cardio, etc.
• Do not neglect sexual life, as variations in sex life may also cause some changes in cervical mucus.

To conclude, one may expect some alterations in cervical mucus after exercise, and in most cases, it is not a cause to worry. However, taking some simple steps may help minimize such changes.

Over the long run, exercise is better for female health – it may help fight obesity, improve endurance, enhance self-esteem, and help prevent conditions like PCOS.