Multidimensional Monitoring of Recovery Status and Implications for Performance

Abstract

Monitoring of recovery in the context of athletic performance has gained significant importance during recent years. As a systematic process of data collection and evaluation, the monitoring of recovery can be implemented for various purposes. It may aid to prevent negative outcomes of training or competition, such as underrecovery, overtraining, or injuries. Further, it aims at establishing routines and strategies necessary to guarantee athletes' readiness for performance by restoring their depleted resources. Comprehensive monitoring of recovery ideally encompasses a multidimensional approach, thereby considering biological, psychological, and social monitoring methods. From a biological perspective, physiological (e.g., cardiac parameters), biochemical (e.g., creatine kinase), hormonal (e.g., salivary cortisol) and immunological (e.g., immunoglobulin A) markers can be taken into account to operationalize training loads and recovery needs. Psychological approaches suggest the application of validated and reliable psychometric questionnaires (e.g., Recovery-Stress Questionnaire for Athletes) to measure a subjective perception of recovery as well as the subjective degree of training- or competition-induced fatigue. Social aspects also play a role in performance monitoring and may hence provide essential performance-related information. The implementation of a monitoring routine within athletic environments represents a continuous process which functions as an effective addition to training and depends on a range of conditions (e.g., organizational regulations, commitment of athletes). Current research in the field of monitoring aims at establishing individualized monitoring regimes that are referring to intraindividual reference values with the help of innovative technological devices.

“N‐of‐1”—Study: A concept of acute and chronic stress research using the example of ballroom dancing

“…Overall, the concept "N‐of‐1 study" enables the observation of complex dynamic contexts, where we can capture changes occurring over time. This framework will help to identify predictors of stress‐related health complaints, unravel underlying mechanisms, and evaluate the efficacy of preventive and therapeutic interventions on an individual level . In the context of high‐performance sports and elite athletes, individual tracking of stress functioning throughout season will advance the understanding of individual processes of adaptation to and recovery from training and competition.…”

“…This framework will help to identify predictors of stress-related health complaints, unravel underlying mechanisms, and evaluate the efficacy of preventive and therapeutic interventions on an individual level. 46 In the context of high-performance sports and elite athletes, individual tracking of stress functioning throughout season will advance the understanding of individual processes of adaptation to and recovery from training and competition. In a further development, intense naturalistic approach should allow for both the estimation of critical stress levels (ie, risk of overtraining) and the evaluation of stress management strategies in producing health and performance benefits.…”

Heart Rate Monitoring in Team Sports—A Conceptual Framework for Contextualizing Heart Rate Measures for Training and Recovery Prescription

“…Current technological developments in the field of wearable sensors enable steady improvement in the quantification of internal- and external-load indicators during athletic activity and expand the variety of tools available to measure training responses (Cardinale and Varley, 2017 ). Ideally, a comprehensive monitoring system includes markers for all relevant physiological and psychological aspects of training and performance, combining them into a holistic approach (Heidari et al, 2018 ). Nevertheless, the handling of collected data poses a great challenge for researchers and practitioners, and available analytical strategies have rarely been systematically investigated (Thorpe et al, 2017 ).…”

Monitoring und Belastungssteuerung im Handball

“…Aus sportmedizinischer Sicht steht dabei die Gesundhaltung der Athleten im Vordergrund. Der Begriff des Monitorings bezieht sich in diesem Zusammenhang auf ein systematisches Erfassen von ausgesuchten physikalischen, physiologischen und psychologischen Zielparametern im zeitlichen Verlauf [1]. Die Auswertung und Interpretation der gewonnenen Daten sollte Trainerteams, die nicht zwingend über profunde statistische Kenntnisse verfügen, idealerweise binnen kürzester Zeit in verständlicher Form Aufschluss über den Zustand der Athleten bieten.…”

“…Zur Beurteilung des Nutzens sollten hierbei nicht nur die vorrangig angestrebten Effekteeine gesteigerte Leistungsfähigkeit und ein geringeres Auftreten von Sportverletzungen, Sportschäden und Krankheiten -, sondern auch andere Vorteile berücksichtigt werden, die mit der Implementierung eines Monitoringsystems in eine Spitzensportumgebung einhergehen können. Zu diesen positiven Nebeneffekten gehören beispielsweise eine verbesserte Kommunikation zwischen den Athleten und dem Trainer-/Betreuerteam, eine gesteigerte Fähigkeit der Athleten zur Selbstverwaltung bezüglich ihrer körperlichen und geistigen Ressourcen und ein zunehmendes Fachwissen aller in Bezug auf Monitoring und Belastungssteuerung [1][2][3][4].…”