Running for your life: A qualitative study of champion long-distance runners’ strategies to sustain excellence in performance and health

Injury acknowledgement by reduction of sports load in world-leading athletics (track and field) athletes varies with their musculoskeletal health literacy and the socioeconomic environment

Objective

Although injury burden prompts elite athletics (track and field) athletes to engage in injury management, little is known about their health literacy. We investigated musculoskeletal (MS) health literacy in world-leading athletics athletes and associations with prechampionship injury acknowledgement by reduction of training load in different socioeconomic environments.

Methods

Adult and youth athletics athletes (n=1785) preparing for World Championships were invited to complete the Literacy in Musculoskeletal Problems instrument and report acknowledgement of injury by reduction in training load during prechampionship tapering. Their socioeconomic standing was estimated through the Human Development Index of their home country. Demographic differences were examined using χ2tests and determinants of injury acknowledgement assessed using logistic regression.

Results

Complete data were obtained from 780 athletes (43.7%) with 26% demonstrating sufficient MS health literacy, higher in adult (41%) than youth (13%) athletes (p<0.001). Adult athletes at the uppermost socioeconomic level showed higher MS health literacy than athletes at lower socioeconomic levels (p<0.001). At the uppermost socioeconomic level, adult athletes with sufficient MS health literacy had increased likelihood of acknowledging an injury by reduction in training load compared with peers demonstrating insufficient MS health literacy (OR=2.45; 95% CI 1.33–4.53). Athletes at middle socioeconomic levels with sufficient MS health literacy had decreased likelihood for acknowledging an injury during tapering (OR=0.29; 95% CI 0.11–0.78).

Conclusions

The prevalence of sufficient MS health literacy in world-leading athletics athletes is low. Associations between MS health literacy and injury acknowledgement in these athletes vary with the resourcefulness of the socioeconomic environment, implying that health literacy and resources for medical and performance support should be ascertained concurrently.

Assessing parents, youth athletes and coaches subjective health literacy: A cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

The aim was to describe levels of subjective Health Literacy (HL), and to examine possible differences in prevalence proportions between sexes, age groups and level of educations among youth athletes and their mentors (coaches, parents/caregivers) in Swedish Athletics.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional.

METHODS

Data on subjective HL were collected using the Swedish Communicative and Critical Health Literacy (S-CCHL) instrument for mentors and for youth the School-Aged Children (HLSAC) instrument. Questions assessing mentors' literacy on sports injury and return to play were also included.

RESULTS

The surveys were completed by 159 (91%) mentors and 143 youth athletes (87%). The level of S-CCHL was sufficient in 53% of the mentors. Of youth athletes, 28% reported a high level of HL and the item with least perceived high HL (21%) was critical thinking. Ninety-four percent of the mentors believed that it is quite possible to prevent injuries in athletics and 53% perceived having a very good knowledge about how to prevent injuries. Forty-six percent of the mentors perceived having a very good knowledge of return to sport criteria.

CONCLUSIONS

The level of health literacy was low with about half of the mentors and one out of three youth athletes having adequate HL levels. Only half of the mentors stated having a good knowledge of various injury prevention strategies. To reduce health consequences in youth sport and enable talent development more work is needed to understand the facilitators and barriers for the uptake of various health promotion and injury prevention strategies.