‘Like being stabbed’: AFLW star Chloe Dalton hunts diagnosis for debilitating pain

Olympian and AFLW star Chloe Dalton says it’s hard to relate how painful menorrhagia is and its impact on her sporting career. She wants the taboos around periods to go.

AFLW and former rugby star Chloe Dalton.

Chloe Dalton likens the feeling to “being stabbed”.

Every month, the Olympian and GWS Giants player is plagued by menorrhagia – heavy and painful menstrual periods – as she continues to hunt a diagnosis for what could be the cause behind the debilitating week that awaits like clockwork.

“I have pretty significant pain and discomfort while I have my period and it’s been something that I’ve battled over the last few years in particular,” Dalton said.

“It took me quite some time to approach footy medical staff about it.

“I think I also probably took a long time to seek medical help because it was one of those things where when it was the other three weeks of the month, I didn’t have any symptoms. I’d be in this debilitating pain for a few days and would be like, ‘I really need to do something about this’. And then it would go away, life gets busy, you’re playing footy, and you don’t investigate it.”

GWS Giants player Chloe Dalton is plagued by menorrhagia. Picture: Getty Images

Dalton saw a women’s health GP who referred her to further testing, with her pain now managed by the contraceptive pill – to a point, with pain and nausea still a regular occurrence every month.

“Game day is a pretty stressful one if you are to look at your calendar and when it (your period) might fall,” the Giant said.

“On game day there’s a level of adrenaline that pushes you through regardless, but for me it’s the day-to-day training that would be the most heavily impacted because you’re feeling pretty horrible.

“I often feel like I’m being stabbed. That’s what the extent of the pain is like sometimes. So the thought of feeling that and then having to go and do a really intense training session is really quite overwhelming.”

Chloe Dalton’s pain is now managed by the contraceptive pill – to a point. Picture: Getty Images

Dalton’s experience mirrors that of research that was released in 2018, by University of London professor of reproductive health John Guillebaud, that period pain is “almost as bad as having a heart attack”.

“I’ve also read that,” the AFL Women’s star said.

“And there’s then a conversation around it as people start to validate … ‘Oh wow, that must be really painful’.

“It’s almost like for a lot of men; they have to have it in context to something that’s really significant to actually understand how bad it is.”

The AFL recently announced that female players will no longer wear white “away” shorts in a bid to reduce anxiety around menstruation.

It is just the start of the positive steps for women.

Originally published as ‘Like being stabbed’: AFLW star Chloe Dalton hunts diagnosis for debilitating pain