Personalising training programmes helps improve injury prevention among athletes

Personalised training programmes can make a significant contribution to preventing potential injuries among children and young, female and long-career athletes. Developing physical training programmes adapted to each individual's age, needs and skill levels, especially for women, means they can optimise their performance levels and avoid injuries. That is one of the various recommendations contained in the White Paper that concluded the second edition of the project "Training and injury prevention in young, female and long-career athletes." The research, which was coordinated by the University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC), was carried out in 2023 by the TRIP inter-university network (Training and Injury Prevention in Young, Female and Long Career Athletes). 

Children and young athletes

For children and young athletes, apart from personalised training programmes and assessing each individual's maturational age, the research advises including comprehensive neuromuscular training in training plans, to prevent injuries in the joints in particular. It also recommends warming up appropriately, as "an essential tool for implementing neuromuscular training and preventive strength work with young athletes." Spending fifteen minutes warming up before each session can lead to significant improvements in the athlete's physical condition and prevent injuries. 

It is better to diversify sports at early ages and then specialise later, as this seems to lead to greater enjoyment, fewer injuries and longer-term participation in sport. For children and adolescents, the TRIP network suggests that the sports regulatory bodies should facilitate access to the most appropriate sports activities at each time of their life, without this being subject to where they or live social and economic circumstances. The study also says that sports at school must be given greater recognition. 

When discussing physical training for boys and girls and young athletes, Xantal Borràs-Boix, the lead researcher of this edition of the project and a member of the SEaHM (Sport, Exercise and Human Movement) research group at UVic-UCC, says: "We have an increasingly competitive system, in which children specialise at increasingly early ages in order to be able to reach a competitive performance level as soon as possible. Many boys and girls who are either born chronologically later (within the same category) or who mature later are left behind." And she concludes: "We are exposing young people to levels of effort that are not appropriate in terms of either their physical maturity - the golden age for basic physical abilities is around 22, 25 or 30 years - or their psychological maturity." 

The White Paper also points out that "it is essential to rethink our approach to voluntary work in sports organisations, since the lack of training among professionals who interact with young athletes can significantly affect the quality of their experience." The trainers of young athletes are usually boys and girls who are also very young, and lack significant coaching training. "We know that it is very difficult, but we believe that this system needs a different approach, especially when we see that other societies with different systems have high levels of success in competition," explains Borràs-Boix. Likewise, ensuring appropriate working conditions in sports training environments is crucial so that "only properly trained people educate young athletes."

Female athletes

The conclusions of the TRIP network in this area highlight the need for empowerment of female athletes. Diversity of bodies and appearances in sport needs to be encouraged, by emphasising that performance is not linked to just one body type. Educational programmes that teach adolescent athletes concepts such as body diversity, self-acceptance, and self-esteem also need to be implemented, in order to overcome social pressure related to aesthetic considerations. This means that coaches, families and teammates must be included in the creation of an inclusive and positive sports environment.

Borràs-Boix believes that the training of boys and girls must change from puberty onwards, and that the first specific difficulties related to women's sport begin to be encountered at this time. "In the network we focus on female athletes, who give up sport to a greater extent for various reasons, but we could also extend it to include female trainers, physical trainers, and others, who come up against a glass ceiling, as is the case in so many areas of society," she explains. 

Gender differences and the risk and performance factors that arise during the training of female athletes must be taken into account. Investment in specific research on the physiology of female athletes is necessary, including hormonal, muscular and metabolic issues, as well as the development personalised training programmes to suit the individual needs and physiology of female athletes. "We must adapt training to women's specific needs. For example they are not as strong as men, they have a different musculoskeletal structure (with broader hips), monthly changes in their hormonal levels, maternity, and specific psychological needs," emphasises the researcher. From this point of view, it is important to provide continuous education for coaches and sports professionals about the specific issues involved in training women.

The research also addresses the social context of female athletes who are mothers. On this subject, the research concludes that it is necessary to establish support programmes to balance their responsibilities as athletes and as mothers (flexible training times, childcare services during training and competitions, etc.). It is also important to educate female athletes about how the burdens associated with motherhood can affect their performance and health. It is essential to educate athletes, coaches and medical professionals to ensure that pregnancy is not considered an injury, but instead as a natural part of life, and an aspect that must be complemented by a range of psychological and emotional support services for sportswomen who are mothers.

Finally, in the social sphere, the study calls for equal pay in sport, by the salaries of female athletes to the same level as those of their male counterparts; it calls for female athletes to have equal access to professionals, high quality sports equipment and adequate facilities, and says that professional opportunities for women in leadership, coaching, refereeing and sports management roles must be promoted.

Long-career athletes

The TRIP network believes that it is necessary to determine whether long-career athletes are subject to more injuries due to engaging in sports activities for a longer period of time. It is also necessary to ascertain their history of injuries, pay attention to these athletes' subjective perceptions and feelings, and personalise their rehabilitation and retraining after their injuries.

The TRIP network points out that there is a lack of information about this population, and that more research into its specific characteristics is required. However, it is evident that training and preventive programmes must be adapted and personalised based on the athletes' characteristics, risk factors and the stage they have reached in their athletic career. The demands of training must be managed in a personalised and efficient way, prioritising quality (intensity) over quantity (volume).

"On the one hand, we can see that athletes reach the sporting elite at earlier ages, but on the other hand, the tendency is to finish their sports careers at increasingly older ages," says Borràs-Boix. The question is how to strike a balance so that "we have a just one musculoskeletal system that has to all our lives in as healthy condition as possible, but which also has to perform in the competitive arena and so we have to take care of it." Accordingly, she emphasises: "we still have to learn a lot about how to regulate workloads and emotional management of athletic maturity."

As regards retirement from sports careers, and taking into account that each athlete deals with this issue in a different way, the project suggests comprehensive preparation in all areas, based on each athlete's personal circumstances. It also suggests taking into account the psychological or mental problems that may arise when an athlete retires from their sports career. This issue entails allocating the mental necessary resources to deal with this stage in their lives.

Second edition of the TRIP network project

The second edition of this project, which began in 2022, has seen several meetings between the researchers who are members of the TRIP network in order to discuss various aspects related to training and identify the needs each of the population groups. Borràs-Boix is very positive in her assessment of the work carried out this year and about the opportunity that researchers have had of being able to meet each other and debate issues, "as this allows us to establish shared research projects." 

According to Borràs-Boix, the aim is to continue the TRIP inter-university network project, "increasing the number of researchers involved and disseminating the material that has been produced." Together with the White Book that arose from the research, this material is available for consultation at the TRIP network's website. In addition to Xantal Borràs-Boix, the other participants on behalf of UVic-UCC in the second edition of the project were Javier Peña, director of the Physical Activity and Sports Studies Centre (CEEAF) and coordinator of the SEaHM research group, and the researchers in the group Albert Altarriba and Jordi Vicens.

Several research groups participated in this edition of the project. Apart from the SEaHM research group at UVic-UCC, the participants were other research groups from the University of Girona, Ramon Llull University, the National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia (INEFC), the University of León, Francisco de Vitoria University (Madrid), the University of Almeria, the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) and the University of Murcia. A dozen companies, organisations and sports federations were also involved.

The TRIP network received a grant for Research Networks in Sport Sciences from the Spanish Government's Ministry of Culture and Sport, through the REDES 2023 call.