Stress and Injury in Athletics and the

WorkplaceBy: Justin Woodward,

Devin SolvikMatt Andrews

JT FloodShawn Hanlon

Joe Komito

Why athletes experience stress and how to handle

it?

Stress has been defined as stimulus, intervening and response to variables by different researchers. As a stimulus variable stress is a precipitator; as an intervening variable, a mediator; and as a response variable, a behavior.

What is Stress?

Stress Model

The stress model demonstrates what factors affect stress in sport.

Stress can affect performance, the way an athlete responds to the stress can affect it, and the management of the stress can negatively or positively affect the athlete’s stress level.

Stress Model…

The Stress Response Process

Stress is a factor of life that affects everyone

athletes tend to suffer from it more than non-athletes, due to the amount they are required to balance, between schoolwork, practices and games, as well as family pressures and everyday life.

Stress Response Process…

Some athletes tend to overanalyze during a match so they become anxious, which takes their focus off their main goal.

Focus

Athletes who don’t effectively cope with stress may experience decreases in performance as well as mental and physical distress. Athletes need to be able to regulate arousal to stay focused and in control.

Why Regulate Arousal?

You must increase your awareness of your psychological states before you can control your thoughts and feelings.

Once you are aware of your optimal arousal, you can employ arousal regulation (reduction, maintenance, induction) strategies.

How individuals cope with anxiety is more important than how much anxiety they experience.

Self-Awareness of Arousal

The relationship between physiological arousal / anxiety and performance was found to be an inverted-U shape (Yerkes and Dodson, 1908).◦ Low arousal = poor performance◦ Increased arousal = improved performance◦ Very high arousal = poor performance

Anxiety and Performance

Relationship Between Arousal and Performance

In general, Choking has been defined as the occurrence of sub-optimal performance under pressure.

There is still confusion among athletes, coaches, and media as to what exactly choking is?

Most researchers have trouble defining choking but they all agree it hurts performance.

Choking produces an impaired performance due to extensive pressure and stress.

What is Choking?

Somatic arousal is necessary in athletics because it enhances reaction speed of decision making as well as physical reactions.

Somatic Anxiety and Athletes

Somatic anxiety reduction Progressive relaxation: Learn to feel

the tension in your muscles and then to let go of the tension.

Breath control◦ When you are calm, confident, and in

control, your breathing is smooth, deep, and rhythmic.

◦ When you are under pressure and tense, your breathing is short, shallow, and irregular.

Anxiety Reduction Techniques

Cognitive anxiety is disruptive to athletic performance because mental resources are being used inefficiently.

Cognitive Anxiety and Athletes

Anxiety Reduction TechniquesCognitive anxiety reduction Relaxation response teaches

individuals to quiet the mind, concentrate, and reduce muscle tension by applying the elements of meditation.

Cognitive anxiety reduction Autogenic training

◦ A series of exercises designed to produce two physical sensations—warmth and heaviness—and, in turn, produce a relaxed state.

a. Heaviness in the extremitiesb. Warmth in the extremitiesc. Regulation of cardiac activityd. Regulation of breathinge. Abdominal warmth f. Cooling of the forehead

Anxiety Reduction Techniques

• Smile when you feel tension coming on.

• Have fun—enjoy the situation. • Set up stressful situations in practice. • Slow down; take your time.• Stay focused on the present. • Come prepared with a good game

plan.

On-Site Relaxation Tips

Athletes generally experience less stress than non-athletes. However, when they do experience stress it is more demanding than non-athletes.

Athletes who experience more stress are generally more prone to injuries over athletes who are more relaxed and have low levels of anxiety.

Is There a Link Between Stress and Injury?

Neck pain is another common injury caused by stress. The neck commonly sore due to everyday things such as raising your arm above your head, or holding the phone with your neck and shoulder. Stress only increases the chances of a sore neck.

Lack of sleep due to travel can weaken an athlete’s immune system cause them to get sick commonly.

Common Stress Linked Injuries

A study done on NCAA athletes of different sports took athletes and tested agility, vision, and decision before and after a stressful situation. The athletes all performed better in the tests when relaxed and not feeling anxiety.

Studies

Another study showed that when workers are under stress, they are more common to experience back pain. An experiment was done testing students working in a peaceful environment, and then again working for a manger that was unhappy with their work ethic. The students reported more lower back pain when the manager was upset with the way they were working, over when they were working in a more relaxed environment.

Studies (cont.)

1. Peer pressure from teammates Coaches, Teammates, Fans 2. Parents 3. Pressure to win 4. Pressure to live up to self expectations 5. Pressure to be a role model 6. Pressure to maintain other activities

(grades, jobs)

Reasons Athletes Become Stressed

Weather Contact Sports Need to stay healthy Overtraining Traveling (jet lag)

Physical Stresses

Contracts Losing/Winning streaks Job security Being away from the family

◦ 89% of all MLB players would feel less stress if their families went with them to all away games.

 

Emotional Stress

Stress in the workplace is caused by many variables. Some stressors in the workplace include:◦ Workload- Becoming overwhelmed by loads of

work or lack of work creating stress.◦ Deadlines- Unfair or ridiculous deadlines◦ Long Hours- Working for extended period of time,

missing out on family and personal time leaving individual stressed

Major Workplace Stressors

◦ Doing others work- Colleagues don’t do their own work or do it poorly leaving it for you to do, thus creating stress

◦ Interruptions- Colleagues or managers bothering or constantly checking in

◦ Mistrust- Unfair treatment by colleagues & managers◦ Work Environment- Adjusting to being new or

unhappy with where you work◦ Lack of job satisfaction- Individual does not like what

they do or where they work

Stressors (Cont.)

◦ Pressure from employer- Either caused by deadlines, workload or constant checking in

◦ Bullying from colleagues and managers- Being put down about work or personality

◦ No appreciation- Worker does not feel he or she is being appreciated for work

◦ Lack of control- Become stressed because worker feels they have no control on what they do

◦ No feedback- A worker likes to know if what they are doing is meeting expectations and if they are not told, they become stressed about how well they are doing

Stressors (Cont.)

Stress in the workplace is caused by situations that negatively affect a workers performance and overall well-being. Stress for a continued period of time start to show symptoms of insomnia, anxiety, depression, substance use, anger and physical illnesses. When under severe stress and individual may fail to make decisions, follow priorities and become easily distracted. This is known as burnout, when often individuals partake in reckless behaviors.

Burnout

Humor is one of the greatest and quickest devices for reducing stress.

It gets your brain thinking and working in a different way ◦It distracts you from having a stressed

mindset. Distraction is a simple effective de-stressor.

◦It takes your thoughts away from the stress, and thereby diffuses the stressful feelings.

Stress Reduction Idea 1

Go for a short quick really brisk walk outside.

Yes, actually leave the building. Allow your employees to take a brisk walk

as long as the there is no compromise in work efficacy

Change your environment. Trees, rain, flowers, traffic fumes - doesn't

matter - stimulate your senses with new things.

Stress Reduction Idea 2

Go get a big cup or a bottle of water. Here's why... Most of us fail to drink enough water - that's

water - not tea, coffee, coke, 'sports' drinks, Red Bull or fruit juice...

Offices and workplaces commonly have a very dry atmosphere due to air conditioning, etc., which increases people's susceptibility to de-hydration.

Stress Reduction Idea 3

All of your organs, including your brain, are strongly dependent on water to function properly.

If you starve your body of water you will function below your best - and you will get stressed. Physically and mentally.

This is why you must keep your body properly hydrated by regularly drinking water (most people need 4-8 glasses of water a day).

Encourage employees to keep water at their desk, it’s much easier subconsciously to drink water when it’s within reach.

Take a quick nap. It is nature's way of recharging and re-energizing.

A quick 10-30 minutes' sleep is very helpful to reduce stress.

It's obviously essential if you are driving while tired, but a quick sleep is a powerful de-stressor too.

A lunchtime snooze is very practical for home-workers - it just requires the realization that doing so is acceptable and beneficial (when we are conditioned unfortunately to think that sleeping during the day is lazy, rather than healthy).

Stress Reduction Idea 4

Tell that to the many millions in the Mediterranean countries who thrive on a mid-day siesta.

People in the Mediterranean and Central Americas take a siesta every working day, and this is almost certainly related to longer life expectancy and lower levels of heart disease.

If your work situation is not quite ready to tolerate the concept of a daytime nap then practice taking moments to close their eyes and breath deeply.

Any tea will do, but a flavored cup of tea is even better.

Experiment with different natural flavorings using herbs and spices and fruit.

Making the tea and preparing the ingredients take your mind off your problems, and then smelling and drinking the tea also relaxes you.

Stress Reduction technique 5

Consider Taking 5 minute breaks regularly throughout your day. Sit or walk on your own and relax, breathe deeply and feel peaceful. You will feel more relaxed and not so overwhelmed, increasing your level of concentration and ability to achieve more, in less time.

Suggest that employees Arrive 10 minutes early for every work and personal appointment. You will have time to feel relaxed, prepare yourself and to show respect for the other person’s time.

Encourage employees to keep a neat working environment.

Clean up your work space. Such as, find a way to eliminate the piles of paperwork. Working in an environment that is clean and organized will free up your mind and reduce distractions for you. When your space feels cluttered it leads to the mind feeling cluttered.

Educate your employees/athletes Manage yourself rather than your time. You cannot change time yet you can make changes to yourself by organizing yourself, setting priorities, taking responsibility.

Learn to say no. A straight forward "No" is best although if this feels difficult at first try, "No, my time is committed elsewhere." Saying no is a skill to learn, takes practice and you can do it pleasantly. You will never please everyone and accepting this will reduce the pressure you put on yourself.

Do not assign tasks to employees that you feel they are not qualified to perform

Allow employees to give their input regarding workplace decisions and changes

It is extremely important that your employees have the chance to earn promotions and progress up the ladder of command.

Regularly monitor the workforce for possible signs of stress.

Be understanding if your employees admit to being under too much pressure.

Ensure that your employees are properly trained for their work.

Allow employees as much control as possible over their work and working conditions.

Coaches should create a supportive team atmosphere and adopt and espouse a positive attitude in order to help athletes deal with the stress resulting from self-imposed performance expectations.

When coaches model a positive attitude and confidence, athletes may adopt this perspective themselves and this can act as a coping resource.

Coaches: relieving stress

Coaches should refrain from harshly criticizing individual players, the referee, or the opposing team and should also pay attention to negative nonverbal language(ex. throwing down a clipboard in frustration or negatively shaking one's head).

The coach should use positive language when addressing the team. When appropriate, coaches should discuss team errors rather than individual errors. This may alleviate the pressure that some athletes feel when they have made performance errors.

Coaches may also be able to buffer stress by helping athletes develop goals that are within their reach and written according to the SMART principle.

Goals must be:◦ Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented,

Reasonable, and Time-oriented ◦ Once the goal is set, the coach should regularly

ask the athlete about his or her goal. This will provide an opportunity to discuss the goal and modify it as needed and help keep the athlete accountable for working towards achieving it. Effective goals help to keep the athlete focused on reasonable expectations, which may alleviate stress.