Overtraining Syndrome Symptoms and Diagnosis in Athletes: Where Is the Research? A Systematic Review

Abstract

Context: To understand overtraining syndrome (OTS), it is important to detail the physiological and psychological changes that occur in athletes. Objectives: To systematically establish and detail the physiological and psychological changes that occur as a result of OTS in athletes. Methods: Databases were searched for studies that were (1) original investigations; (2) English, full-text articles; (3) published in peer-reviewed journals; (4) investigations into adult humans and provided (5) objective evidence that detailed changes in performance from prior to the onset of OTS diagnosis and that performance was suppressed for more than 4 weeks and (6) objective evidence of psychological symptoms. Results: Zero studies provided objective evidence of detailed changes in performance from prior to the onset of OTS diagnosis and demonstrated suppressed performance for more than 4 weeks accompanied by changes in psychological symptoms. Conclusions: All studies failed to provide evidence of changes in performance and mood from “healthy” to an overtrained state with evidence of prolonged suppression of performance. While OTS may be observed in the field, little data is available describing how physiological and psychological symptoms manifest. This stems from vague terminology, difficulties in monitoring for prolonged periods of time, and the need for prospective testing. Real-world settings may facilitate the collection of such data, but the ideal testing battery that can easily be conducted on a regular basis does not yet exist. Consequently, it must be concluded that an evidence base of sufficient scientific quality for understanding OTS in athletes is lacking.

Preventing chronic fatigue in Czech young athletes: The features description of the “SmartTraining” mobile application

“…Chronicle fatigue and overtraining syndrome are severe conditions that can negatively affect athletes’ performance and well-being; however, there is little data in the literature that can provide evidence for the prospective nature of the variables that required for diagnosis ( Budgett, 2000 ; Weakley et al, 2022 ). Recently, a review article has indicated that there are no studies meeting the criteria and definition of overtraining syndrome, showing that “the studies failed to provide evidence of changes in physical capacity from “healthy” to an overtrained state with chronic (more than 4 weeks) suppression of performance”.…”

“…Recently, a review article has indicated that there are no studies meeting the criteria and definition of overtraining syndrome, showing that “the studies failed to provide evidence of changes in physical capacity from “healthy” to an overtrained state with chronic (more than 4 weeks) suppression of performance”. Indeed, follow-up time is important for diagnosis and can provide the best opportunities to have data from athletes; however, this process may be difficult because of the issues associated with data collection and valid tools used ( Weakley et al, 2022 ). Certainly, when the training responses are monitored and integrated with an alertness system, as suggested in the app, methodological attention should be considered by looking at the measurement accuracy to detect the smallest changes ( Schneider et al, 2018 ).…”

“…To achieve the proposed requirements, parameters related to chronic fatigue that were easy to measure in the youth’s daily routine were chosen. As mentioned, chronic fatigue in athletes is a complex combination of factors involving inadequate recovery and psychological outcome responses and external variables; therefore, the parameters selected were perceptual measures related to well-being and recovery, physiological responses, energy availability, and psychological responses ( McGuigan, 2017 ; Weakley et al, 2022 ). Afterward, the development process of the mobile application started, which was performed closely by the leading researcher (sports scientist and coach) and software developer.…”

“…If the recovery process and the acute training stimulus is inadequate, the athlete may follow a fatigue continuum process, which comes with an impairment of performance, moving from acute fatigue, functional over-reaching to nonfunctional over-reaching and overtraining ( McGuigan, 2017 ) (see the Supplementary Figure 1 ). Chronic fatigue and overtraining syndrome have been demonstrated to be an empirical concept and complicated to diagnose ( Budgett, 2000 ; Weakley et al, 2022 ) because of the combination of complex factors, such as decreased performance, inadequate physiological and psychological responses and external variables. Moreover, the “Relative energy deficiency in sport syndrome (RED-S)”, which was recently introduced by the International Olympic Committee, shares similar etiological pathways and symptoms that are principally caused by the accumulation of inadequate recovery period.…”

Study of the association of gene polymorphism associated with sports success and risk of occupational diseases in young football players

“…Результатом несприятливого впливу надмірного фізичного навантаження у спортсменів є так званий синдром перетренованості через зниження імунологі-чної реактивності та адаптаційних можливостей організму, що супроводжується частими порушеннями у функціональному стані нервової, ендокринної та серцевосудинної систем, призводить до виникнення різних видів загальносоматичної патології, в тому числі до виникнення різних стоматологічних порушень [19,4]. Погане здоров'я органів і тканин ротової порожнини може знизити якість життя та викликати системну запальну реакцію, а також вплинути на спортивні результати [8,14].…”