CC BY
20УДК 796.015 DOI: 10.36028/2308-8826-2020-8-2-6-13
INVESTIGATION OF THE PREPARATION
AND INJURY PREVENTION STRATEGIES FOR YOUNG
TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETES IN JAMAICA
K.S Hylton1 kshylton@utech.edu.jm, ORCID 0000-0001-8677-5939 N. Guthrie-Dixon2 n.guthriedix@gmail.com, ORCID 0000-0003-3084-7723 N. Wright1 nwright@utech.edu.jm, ORCID 0000-0002-1970-1742 N. Cooke1 ekooc12@yahoo.com, ORCID 0000-0002-8369-7848
1 University of Technology, Kingston, Jamaica
2 University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica
Abstract
The aim of the research is to review track and field training, care and rehabilitation programmes in Jamaican schools in order to characterize training regimes, injuries, and perceptions regarding the protocol for managing the care of student athletes. Methods and organization of the study: We collected qualitative and quantitative data from coaches and athletes about training, diet and injuries. We did a thematic analysis of the qualitative data, used descriptive statistics to analyze the quantitative data and the triangulation principle was then used to compare the data sets. Research results: We found that only 64.3% of athletes were pre-screened and discovered that hamstring injuries were dominant with shin and groin injuries also being common. The research also revealed that athletes ate poorly and coaches struggled with nutrition management, improper footwear and inadequate training surfaces. The conclusion: These young athletes undergo an intense training protocol and this coupled with no identification of pre-existing conditions, poor eating habits, and poor equipment make them susceptible to avoidable injuries. All coaches indicated gaps that require additional financial support and training to rectify.
Keywords: Student athletes, Athlete care, sprinting, injury management, safeguarding children in sport.
ИССЛЕДОВАНИЕ СТРАТЕГИЙ ПОДГОТОВКИ И ПРОФИЛАКТИКИ ТРАВМ У МОЛОДЫХ
ЛЕГКОАТЛЕТОВ ЯМАЙКИ
Хилтон К.С., Н. Гатри-Диксон, Н. Райт, Н. Кук
1 Технологический Университет, Кингстон, Ямайка
2 Университет Вест-Индии, Кингстон, Ямайка Аннотация
Целью исследования является изучение легкоатлетической подготовки, программ по уходу и реабилитации в школах Ямайки с целью составления характеристики тренировочных режимов, травм и восприятия в рамках протокола сопровождения студента-спортсмена. Методы и организация исследования. Мы собрали качественные и количественные данные о подготовке, диете и травмах у тренеров и спортсменов, осуществили тематический анализ качественных данных, использовали дескриптивную статистику с целью проведения анализа количественных данных и принцип триангуляции для сравнения набора данных. Результаты исследования. Исследование показало, что только 64,3% спортсменов прошли предварительный скрининг, наиболее распространенными являлись травмы подколенных сухожилий, травмы голени и области паха. В результате исследования было обнаружено, что спортсмены получали недостаточное количество питательных веществ с пищей и тренерам приходилось работать над контролем питания, решать проблемы, связанные с неправильно подобранной обувью и неподходящими тренировочными покрытиями. Заключение. Исследуемые молодые спортсмены неполноценно выполняют интенсивный тренировочный протокол. В сочетании с игнорированием заданных условий, отсутствием сбалансированного питания и слабой экипировкой это обусловливает их подверженность травмам, которых возможно избежать. Все тренеры указали на наличие пробелов, для устранения которых требуется дополнительная финансовая поддержка и подготовка.
Ключевые слова: студенты-спортсмены, сопровождение спортсмена, спринт, контроль травм, обеспечение безопасности детей в спорте.
INTRODUCTION
Sports have been an integral part of the Jamaican culture for more than half a century. The country has been extraordinarily successful in sports - producing world-leading greats such as Bunny Grant (boxing), Michael Holding (cricket), Alia Atkinson (swimming), Jhaniele Fowler (netball), Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and Shelly-Ann Fras-er-Pryce (track and field). This has been due to the ability of sports to provide unparalleled entertainment, bridge social divides and provide employment with consequent upward socioeconomic mobility. Specifically, track and field has brought Jamaica the most success. Jamaica won three medals at its first ever Olympics, in 1948, with Arthur Wint and Herb McKenley taking gold and silver in the men's 400m. At the 1952 Helsinki Olympics Wint, McKenley, Rhoden and Laing captured the men's 4x40m meters in record time. Jamaica ended with a haul of two gold and three silver to finish 13th. At the Moscow Olympics, in the 200m, Merlene Ottey captured a bronze and became the first female athlete from the English-speaking Caribbean to win an Olympic medal.
The last two decades have seen a meteoric rise in Jamaica's dominance in track and field. Athletes such as Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce, Elaine Thompson, Veronica Campbell Brown and Usain Bolt have become synonymous with excellence in the arena. Campbell-Brown won gold in the 200m in Athens in 2004 which fueled an unbroken run of Jamaica earning a gold medal at every athletic event since. At the 2007 World Championship, Jamaica ended with 10 medals and placed fourth out of 204 countries. The 2008 Olympics in Beijing saw Jamaica as the first country to complete a clean sweep of the medals in a women's 100m final.
A principal reason for sports' entrenchment in Jamaica's culture is due to it being an integral part of the formal education system. This begins with mandatory physical education in the curriculum and annual sports days in the school calendar. The competition intensifies at the secondary school level (ages 13-19 ) and culminates with the National Boys and Girls Championships, popularly referred to as "Champs" which is arguably the premier track and field secondary
school competition in the world and continues to get bigger and more competitive annually. This high level of competition has resulted in great training and performance demands being placed on young athletes who must balance competing stresses at home and school. There is, however, an even greater worry about athletes making the transition from high school stars to world beaters. It has resulted in much debate locally about the training load and general injury management protocols and whether or not student athletes are being overworked and adequately cared for. Only Melaine Walker and Donald Quarrie have won in every class at Champs and have gone on to win at the highest level. Campbell-Brown and Bolt have also won in the senior classes (Class 1 and 2) before dominating the international stage. On the other side, there have been a number of athletes with promising starts at the secondary school level who were unable to make the transition due to injury. Among these athletes are 1980s sprint star Leroy Reid who was plagued by hamstring injuries. Former Calabar sprinter Ali Watson won the unique triple of the 100m, 200m, and 400m in class three (ages 14 and under) but faded after this level. He developed leg injuries thereafter and some speculated mental issues as well. Remaldo Rose set his personal best of 10.33s for the 100m in 2004 at the National Junior Trials at age 16. Hamstring injuries arrested his development and he never made a mark at the senior level. If Jamaica is to sustain its performance in track and field, it is vital that we identify gaps in the training and preparation process so that we can develop plans that will mitigate against these debilitating factors. Coaches must exercise due diligence to ensure training workload is properly managed to avoid mental and physical fatigue as well as overuse injury [1]. Some initial steps include the determination of the athlete's current level of physical maturity and investigation of whether or not there are any underlying conditions that may be remedied or that predisposes the athlete to increased risk. This is envisioned to happen via some version of the pre-participation physical evaluation (PPE). This will also serve to provide base level health and fitness information which will be key in allowing the coach to craft an effective training
programme. It will also allow the parent to determine the psychological, nutritional and other support that may be necessary for the athlete's development.
Early studies indicate a wide variation in the incidence of track and field injuries from as low as 17.5% [15] to 76% [4]. A number of studies show that 60-90% of track and field injuries are due to overuse and tend to occur more frequently during competition [10,12-14] . Von Rosen et al, showed however that more injuries occurred during training rather than during competition and that females were more susceptible [11]. The researchers also found that sprint athletes trained for an average of nine hours per week, had 7-8 sessions and approximately 43.8% experienced injuries with the majority of these injuries affecting the thigh.
It should also be noted that some studies indicate that running distance, sudden increases in running mileage or intensity, previous running injury, higher performance levels and lack of running experience
also influence the occurrence of injuries. [15, 6] Other studies have shown that poor eating behaviour and improper nutrition are also factors that influence injury frequency and the athlete's ability to recover [3,7,2]. Despite the numerous studies, there was no data available on the Jamaican high school track and field population in this study which exhibit running speeds, that are in many instances, close to or even better than senior/professional athlete times. We sought therefore to look at factors previously identified in other studies such as training frequency, nutrition and, training intensity to characterize and evaluate the strategies used to prevent and manage injuries in young track and field athletes. This is with a view to recommending and eventually implementing systematic measures that seek to protect our young athletes.
METHODS
This was a pilot study aimed at exploring the protocols used in training elite high school track and
Figure 1 - Schematic for concurrent triangulation method Рисунок 1 - Схема параллельного триангуляционного метода
field athletes in Jamaica. The results of this study will be used to assist in determining the feasibility of a larger hypothesis testing study [8]; where the findings could contribute to the National Sport Policy. A mixed methods approach using a concurrent triangulation design was utilised. The principle of triangulation was used to enhance both the reliability and internal validity of the study as the perspectives of two groups of stakeholders were incorporated [9]. Qualitative and quantitative data collection was done simultaneously at top performing schools in athletics. Interviews were used to collect data from a convenience sample of 4 coaches whilst questionnaires were used to collect data from a convenience sample of 16 athletes. Available case analyses were independently performed for both sets of data. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data was supported by the descriptive statistics found for the quantitative data. Results were compared and merged to better understand the complexity of the injury profiles for elite high school athletes [5]. This overall process is represented in the schematic provided in Figure 1.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Sample Characteristics
Coaches for four elite track and field high school squads in Jamaica were interviewed. The coach with 30 years of experience was from a school that won Champs twice. The coach with 29 years of experience coaching was a recently appointed coach to the squad with the greatest number of Champs victories and the only coach confirming pre-screening of the athletes. Although three of the coaches confirmed knowledge/training in injury assessment and rehabilitation; only two of the three confirmed knowledge/training in first aid. Of the 14 athletes who indicated their gender, 10 were male. Six of the athletes in the sample were members of the squad with the greatest number of Champs victories. Out of the 14 who indicated the specific events in which they participated, more than half of those athletes (69.2%) competed in either or both of the 100m and 200m sprint events and 30.8% competed in the long jump.
Analysis of Coaches' Responses
On analysing the coaches' responses, five major
themes arose: Facilities, Equipment and Gear;
Types of Injuries; Training Programme; Injury Response and Injury Prevention. Coaches reported that inadequate footwear and improper training surfaces impacted their ability to reduce injuries to their athletes with the most experienced coach confirming that shin splits were most. This is significant because in light of the high levels of sponsorship by athletic wear companies and investments in IAAF certified surfaces, issues related to the inadequacy of footwear and surfaces was not expected to be a dominant feature. The data show that, despite pre-participation sports evaluation being widely accepted as vital to athlete care and training design, not all athletes are pre-screened. Event though, three of the four coaches confirmed some extent of knowledge of injury assessment and rehabilitation, none of them is a licensed physical therapist or athletic trainer or has any continuing education credits in this area. The responses highlight the need for coaches to design comprehensive programmes that holisti-cally prepare the athletes and seek to align the athlete's events with their preparation and recovery programme. Coaches must also seek to ensure alignment between their evaluation of the athlete and their intended targets. For example, one coach uses the Cooper's test to evaluate fitness despite its more appropriate suitability for assessing endurance athletes. Table 1 below highlights some of the responses to questions asked in the interviews.
Analysis of Athletes' Responses Only 4 of the 14 athletes who responded to the question about being pre-screened at the start of the season, answered in the affirmative. There was a large variation in the number of meets athletes participated in per season [Minimum=4 meets, Maximum=15 meets; n=15]. The median number of training days per week was 5 with a minimum of 3 days and a maximum of 6 days based on the responses from 15 athletes. The median number of hours trained per session was 3 with a minimum of 2 hours and a maximum of 6 hours based on the responses from 13 athletes. The nutrition of the athletes was not being adequately addressed as very few ate adequate amounts of fruits and vegetables as well
Table 1 - Themes arising from interviews with coaches Таблица 1 - Темы, возникающие в ходе интервью с тренерами
Themes Темы Responses Ответы
Facilities, Equipment and Gear Объекты, оборудование и механизмы "Lack of resources affect changing our footwear. Недостаток ресурсов влияет на возможность подобрать новую обувь "We have the basic equipment required" У нас есть базовое необходимое оборудование "The equipment is not the best. The gym is probably our low point." Оборудование не самое лучшее. Спортзал. вероятно. наше слабое место.
Types of Injuries Типы травм "Shin splints can occur very easily - wrong footwear and wrong surfaces can cause shin splints. Травмы икроножных мышц можно получить очень легко - неправильная обувь и неподходящие покрытия могут привести к травмам икроножных мышц
Training Programme Тренировочная программа "For the senior students the duration is between 3-4 hours in-season on some days based on what we are doing on a particular day. For the younger athletes 2-3 hours. In-season warm ups are longer." Для студентов старших курсов продолжительность составляет 3-4 часа в ходе сезона в определенные дни в зависимости от того. что мы делаем в конкретный день. Для более молодых спортсменов - 2-3 часа. Сезонные разминки длятся дольше. "[Factors considered for each season include training age, biological age, talent, event of the individual and the basic principle of individualization." Учитываемые факторы для каждого сезона включают в себя тренировочный возраст, биологический возраст. талант. индивидуальный случай и базовый принцип индивидуализации. "Fitness is assessed every cycle using 12-minute run. pulse test" Физическая подготовка оценивается в каждом цикле с использованием 12-минутного бега. измерения пульса. "Fitness is assessed using time trials. how they perform in competition and strength training. They have 3 or 4 exercises in the gym that help to gauge them. I weigh them every month" Физическая подготовка оценивается с использованием бега на время. оцениваются результаты соревнований и силовых тренировок. Они выполняют 3 или 4 упражнения в спортзале, и это помогает мне осуществить измерения. Я взвешиваю их каждый месяц. 'The duration of a training session is 2.5-3 hours" Продолжительность сеанса тренировки - 2.5-3 часа. "Nutrition is a tough one. We have a food program. We try to educate the athletes about what to eat and what not to eat" Питание строгое.У нас есть программа питания. Мы стараемся научить спортсменов. что стоит. а что не стоит есть. "We train Monday to Friday during the preseason for 2 hours. For the younger boys it's 1.5 hours. During the regular season it's Monday to Thursday and Fridays will be a rest or fine-tuning day. Great emphasis is placed on rest." Мы тренируемся по 2 часа с понедельника по пятницу в предсезонный период. Более молодые юноши - по 1.5 часа. Во время регулярного сезона - с понедельника по четверг, а пятница - день отдыха или доработки. Акцент на отдых. "I try to monitor the nutrition especially for the females. I explain to them what needs to happen at home and here at school I talk to the chef." Я стараюсь контролировать питание. особенно у женщин. Я объясняю им. как они должны действовать дома, и здесь в школе я разговариваю с шеф-поваром. "We don't have a dietary program as such but we try to complement what they eat. We provide lunch and additionally for the [older male athletes] we provide supplements on the advice of the doctor" У нас нет диетической программы как таковой, но мы стараемся дополнять их питание. Мы обеспечиваем ланч и дополнительно для старших спортсменов мужского пола предоставляем добавки к питанию по рекомендации врача.
Injury Response Реакция на травмы "Referred to a doctor then physiotherapy" Направляется к доктору, затем на физиотерапию "Injuries are not things you can foresee; one just has to look, prepare and try to avoid." Травмы нельзя предвидеть; их можно только наблюдать. готовиться к ним и стараться избегать
Injury Prevention Профилактика травм "Iceing every Friday before meets and ensuring the athletes muscles get a rub-out." Воздействие льдом каждую пятницу перед встречами и обеспечение разогрева мышц спортсменов "We try to ensure we do extra work on the hamstrings and other muscle groups prone to injury and they are sent to a physiotherapist if we can afford it" Мы стараемся дополнительно работать над подколенными сухожилиями и другими мышечными группами, подверженными травмам. и направляем спортсменов к физиотерапевту. если можем это позволить "Footwear and clothing are the factors which are most stringent" Обувь и одежда - это наиболее дефицитные факторы "There's always a first aid kit in place whether at training or competition." На месте тренировки или проведения соревнований всегда есть аптечка первой помощи
FOOD/BEVERAGE DETAILS
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Snacks
Hot Beverage
Figure 2 - Bar graph showing the typical eating habits of the Jamaican athletes
Рисунок 2 - Гистограмма, демонстрирующая типичные пищевые привычки спортсменов Ямайки
as healthy fats and protein. Figure 2 below shows the distribution of eating habits among the athletes.
The majority of the athletes (88%) confirmed receiving an athletic-related injury and approximately 57% of these athletes experienced more than one such injury. Athletes reported the shin, hamstring and groin as the three main areas where they experienced injuries. Of the 12 athletes who indicated that they received medical attention for injuries sustained, just over half
of them (58.3%) indicated that treatment was received within 24 hours. Hamstring injuries were the most common injury resulting in the longest time out of training as shown in Table 2 below:
Integration of Analyses
On comparing the findings from the separate analyses, the following critical points were highlighted: Athletes' responses about the structure of the training programme (duration and frequency of sessions and nutritional needs) were
Table 2 - Injury Distribution within Categories of Time Away from Training Таблица 2 - Распределение травм по временным категориям без тренировки
Affected Area Область повреждения Time Away from Training Время без тренировки
No Time Away n (%) Нулевое время Days n (/) Дни Weeks n (/) Недели Months n (/) Месяцы At least a Season n (%) Как минимум сезон
Knee (n=1) Колено 1 (33.3) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0)
Shin (n=3) Голень 1 (33.3) 0 (0.0) l (ЗЗ.З) l (25.0) 0 (0.0)
Hamstring (n=5) Подколенное сухожилие 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 2 (66.7) 2 (50.0) 1 (100.0)
Groin (n=3) Паховая область 1 (33.3) l (50.0) 0 (0.0) l (25.0) 0 (0.0)
Ankle (n=1) Лодыжка 0 (0.0) l (50.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 0 (0.0)
Total (n=13) Всего 3 2 З 4 1
in tandem with the responses provided by the coaches; athletes report predominantly experiencing injuries of the shin, hamstring and groin with shin splints being confirmed as a common injury by the most experienced coach. The athletes confirm that the response and response time to injuries is appropriate, however there are differing approaches used by the coaches for injury response. This indicates that athletes and coaches appear to perceive things in a similar manner and so agree on the issues that are affecting their performance. A closer look at the eating habits of the athletes also reinforces the coaches' concern with respect to the lack of a balanced diet. Sprinters tend to require high levels of high quality proteins such as fish, lean meat, eggs, nuts and beans, but the data in Figure 2 indicates gaps that will impact their bodies ability to repair damaged muscle fibres and consequently increase the time taken to recover from injuries.
CONCLUSION
Some of these young athletes train at levels that are similar to professional athletes. These
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Hylton Kamilah Safiya - Associate Professor, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D); University of Technology; 237, Old Hope Road Kingston 6, Jamaica; e-mail: kshylton@utech.edu.jm; ORCID 0000-0001-8677-5939
Guthrie -Dixon Natalie - Lecturer/Biostatistician, Masters of Science; University of the West Indies Mona Campus Kingston 6, Jamaica; e-mail: n.guthriedix@gmail.com; ORCID 0000-0003-3084-7723
Wright Nodley - Research Assistant, Bachelor's of Science; University of Technology; 237 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6, Jamaica; e-mail: nwright@utech.edu.jm; ORCID 0000-0002-1970-1742
Cooke Nevin - Research Assistant, Bachelor's of Science; University of Technology; 237 Old Hope Road Kingston 6, Jamaica; e-mail: ekooc12@yahoo.com; ORCID 0000-0002-8369-7848
ОБРАЗЕЦ ЦИТИРОВАНИЯ
Hylton K.S. Investigation of the preparation and injury prevention strategies for young track and field athletes in Jamaica / K.S Hylton, N. Guthrie-Dixon, N. Wright, N. Cooke // Наука и спорт: современные тенденции. - 2020. - Т. 8, № 2. - С. 6-13. DOI: 10.36028/2308-8826-2020-8-2-6-13
FOR CITATION
Hylton K.S., Guthrie-Dixon N., Wright N., Cooke N. Investigation of the preparation and injury prevention strategies for young track and field athletes in Jamaica. Science and sport: current trends, 2020, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 6-13 (in Russ.) DOI: 10.36028/2308-8826-2020-8-2-6-13
