Training Characteristics, Sleep Quality, And Injuries In Adolescent Track And Field

PURPOSE: To analyze the association between training characteristics, sleep quality, and injuries among adolescent track and field (T&F) participants. METHODS: A survey was distributed to middle and high school T&F coaches and administrators to share with their T&F athletes. 166 T&F athletes ages 10-18 completed the survey, including 84 females and 82 males. Training characteristics and injuries were self reported. Sleep quality was assessed using an adapted athlete sleep behavior questionnaire. Data were analyzed to measure the association between training characteristics, sleep, and injury among adolescent T&F participants. RESULTS: 34% of participants reported an injury during the season, including 38.1% of females and 30.5% of males (p = 0.30). Participants who experienced an injury or illness during the season trained 5.3 days per week, compared to 4.8 days among uninjured participants (p < 0.05); however, these groups did not significantly differ in hours trained per week. Injured or ill male distance runners ran 35.2 miles per week, compared to 20.5 miles among uninjured and healthy peers (p < 0.01). Injured or ill female distance runners ran 17.9 miles per week, compared to 15.5 miles among uninjured and healthy peers (p = 0.70). Injured participants reported poorer sleep quality (29.7 of 55), compared to uninjured participants (25.5 of 55; p < 0.001). There was a moderate, positive relationship between sleep quality and days missed from injury or illness (rho: 0.333, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study revealed nonsignificant differences in injury prevalence between male and female adolescent T&F participants. Among this sample, training days per week demonstrated a positive association with injury prevalence, but hours per week did not. This suggests a potential benefit to more frequent but shorter duration training sessions for adolescent T&F participants.