437 EP077 – How much is too much? Stress in young elite is a precursor for illness and injury

Abstract

Background: Appropriate physical stress in training and adequate recovery are essential in gaining maximal adaptation in athletes. Tired athletes can be under increased physical and mental stressors that result in maladaptation. Little is known if additional academic and psychosocial stressors faced by university athletes leads to a counterproductive adaptation. Objective: To determine if subjective stressors (e.g. academic pressures, psychosocial stressors) are associated with counterproductive training adaptations in elite athletes as well as the period in the academic year where such stressors are most harmful. Design: Longitudinal cross-sectional retrospective study undertaken in university semesters between 2014 -2017. Setting: Study was carried out at Lincoln University, a tertiary education institute that is host to the largest elite sports scholarship program in New Zealand. Participants: A 182 sports scholarship students aged 18–22 years. Intervention: Individualized training programs were developed for each athlete based on training status and competitive season. A commercially available software system was used to collect training data and subjective feelings of stress, fatigue, academic pressure, mood, sleep as well as injury or illness incidences. Results: The highest injury and illness rate are during the examination period of the academic year where stress levels were elevated. Subjective measures and academic pressure were the strongest contributors to injury. Decreased levels of perceived mood, sleep duration and energy levels as well increased academic stress were able to predict injury in these athletes. Conclusions Athletes are vulnerable at certain periods of the academic year due to increased stress resulting in an increase in injury and illness rate. This study highlighted the need for the implementation of stress reduction and resilience development protocols foy young elite athletes