Long-term performance decrement in young (elite) athletes: Relation with stress recovery balance and clinical parameters

Long-term performance decrement in young (elite) athletes: Relation with stress
recovery balance and clinical parameters

The high workload of top athletes is frequently linked to overtraining (minimum
life time prevalence 20%). Especially between 15 an 23 years of age the top
athlete is not only confronted with an increased training load, but also with
an increased social an psychological load. To protect the athlete and to
improve efficiency of the training and development phase of an athlete,
prevention of overload and overtraining is demanded. However, a suitable
preventive instrument does not exist.
From a multi causal perpective it is studied wrther parameters of the stress-
recovery balance may be suitable for a future online monitor that signal the
development of overtraining in young top athletes.
Currently, there is no other diagnostic instrument for the overtraining
syndrome than a per exlusion protocol. Recent studies have shown that
endocrinological responses to acute and high physical overload and brain
activity in psychiatric diseases may offer new oppertunities to improve
clinical diagnostic tools of the overtraining syndrome.

The main objective of this research proposal is to 1). the devolpment of a
monitor with stress and recovery parameters to predict long-term performance
decrement in young elite athletes
2). evaluating the association between endocrinological and neuro-psychological
parameters and long-term performance decrement in young elite athletes.

1. A prospective study using an online monitor (logbook method).
2. Een case-control design to test differences in endocrinological adaptation
after heavy physical exercise tests and brain activity after a stress test.
Cases are included if performance decrements are measured in the monitor.
Controls are included if performance decrements are lacking, and after matching
them with the cases on type of sport and age.

Two maximal exercise tests

There are no risks associated to the participation of the online monitor. Also,
many athletes are used to fill in log books and questionnaires. Stress and
recovery are registered only once a month posing only a minor workload on the
athlete. Two other questionnaires are only used twice or three time during the
entire season. Performance testing in the monitor, as a replacement of normal a
training session, will not lead to any physical burden higher than any training
does.
There are no known risks for athletes to participate in tasks of psychomotor
slowness and in EEG measurements. The risk of participating in the double
maximal exercise test is the same as the risk related to sport participation,
since a maximal exercise is part of their regular training program or
mach/game. An insurance covers the risks involved in the maximum exercise tests
with collection of blood samples (four times 20 ml), which involves less than
half the number of participants.
The specific sensitivity to overload and overtraining, their age dependant
causes and age dependant physiological changes defines this study as dependant
to the population under study.
The frequent occurrence of overload and overtraining and the impact that
performance decrements and failure can have on young athletes, justifies the
minor burdens of this study if increased knowledge is obtained.