The elite young athlete: strategies to ensure physical and emotional health

Abstract

This article presents a current review of the risk of physical and psychological injury associated with participation in elite youth sport, and suggests strategies to ensure the physical and emotional health of these young athletes. Although there is lack of epidemiological data, especially with regard to psychological injury, preliminary data suggest that the risk of injury is high in this population. While there is lack of incident and follow-up data, there is also concern regarding burnout, disordered eating, and the long-term consequences of injury. Modifiable injury risk factors identified include postural control, competition anxiety, life events, previous injury, and volume of training. There are presently no studies designed to determine the effectiveness of injury prevention measures in elite youth sports. However, there is adequate evidence arising from injury prevention studies of youth sports participants – including neuromuscular training, protective equipment, mental training to enhance self-esteem, and sport rules modification – to prevent injuries in elite youth sports settings. Although not tested, psychosocial prevention strategies such as adoption of task-oriented coping mechanisms, autonomous support from parents, and a proactive organizational approach also show promise in injury prevention.

Training Load, Immune Status, and Clinical Outcomes in Young Athletes: A Controlled, Prospective, Longitudinal Study

“…Success needs a high degree of health, because less lack of practice for exercising the physiological demands is necessary (Armstrong and Mc Manus, 2011 ; Hastmann-Walsh and Caine, 2015 ). In particular, adolescence needs an increased attention (Sabato et al, 2016 ). First, because of the high relative increase in training in this timeframe, on the other hand due to the consideration of additional factors influencing individual development, such as school, parental conflicts, puberty, or other physical and psychological strains (Cohn, 1990 ; Scanlan et al, 1991 ; Puffer and McShane, 1992 ; Gould et al, 1993 ; Puente-Diaz and Anshel, 2005 ).…”

“…Competitive sport is associated with various physical and psychological strains (Sabato et al, 2016 ; Schwellnus et al, 2016a , b ). Beside positive effects on athlete's health and well-being, including cardiovascular and muscular fitness, bone health, weight control, psychosocial outcomes, cognitive and brain health, and reduced morbidity and premature death (Wartburton and Bredin, 2016 , 2017 ; Chieffi et al, 2017 ), acute prolonged exercise can be linked with an increased risk of illness and injury (Armstrong and Mc Manus, 2011 ; Hastmann-Walsh and Caine, 2015 ).…”

“…The trend of recent years shows an increased duration, intensity, and difficulty of training, a high-frequency participation in sports events, and an earlier specialization and professionalization (Mountjoy et al, 2008 ; Caine, 2010 ; Armstrong and Mc Manus, 2011 ). Such conditions can negatively affect the risk of physical and psychological illness and injury (Armstrong and Mc Manus, 2011 ; Sabato et al, 2016 ). Therefore, to ensure resilience in young athletes, age-based additional endo- and exogenous risk factors, which can negatively influence the ability to withstand stress, should be known and considered: e.g., physical development, high training load (DiFiori and Mandelbaum, 1996 ; Dennis et al, 2005 ; Dun et al, 2005 ; Loud et al, 2005 ; Fleisig et al, 2011 ; Hjelm et al, 2012 ), early specialization (Barynina and Vaitsekhovskii, 1992 ; Bompa, 1995 ; Jayanthi et al, 2013 ), performance capacity, previous illnesses, environmental factors, and negative stressors such as school, parental conflicts, pressure to perform, and competition failure (Cohn, 1990 ; Scanlan et al, 1991 ; Puffer and McShane, 1992 ; Gould et al, 1993 ; Puente-Diaz and Anshel, 2005 ).…”

Safety in Mixed Martial Arts: a 7-Year Review of Cancelled MMA Bouts in Calgary, Alberta, During the Pre-bout Medical Examination Period

“…Partaking in amateur or professional MMA bouts creates not only an internal spirit of competition in the athlete but also external expectations from their coaches, the promotional organization, and the fans [ 45 ]. Having a medical team that is not affiliated with any of these groups provides credibility and support for the athlete’s health concerns and creates a space where the athlete can make an informed decision regarding competition [ 46 , 47 ].…”

Cardiopulmonary exercise tests of adolescent elite sport climbers—a comparison of the German junior national team in sport climbing and nordic skiing

“…of exercise at moderate intensity per day with short bouts of anaerobic intensities per week are recommended [4]. However, elite athletes (in this article defined as being in the National Team) train between 10 and 20 h per week with intensities exceeding the WHO recommendations [5]. Endurance activities (long distance running, swimming) reduce the systolic blood pressure by reducing the peripheral vascular resistance, and increase the cardiac stroke volume and output which in turn reduces myocardial oxygen consumption.…”