This was a really interesting and thought provoking piece. Have listened to Ademola a few times, and to say his tales are eye opening is very much understating it.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/should-w ... BNuw%3D%3D
Should we be concerned about the physical toll on athletes after a life in professional sports?
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Epaminondas Pules
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Epaminondas Pules
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Re: Should we be concerned about the physical toll on athletes after a life in professional sports?
And yeah, I know it is LinkedIn. Sorry about that.
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Epaminondas Pules
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Re: Should we be concerned about the physical toll on athletes after a life in professional sports?
Life as a professional athlete is a unique one. Breaking into professional sport of any kind, whether it is football, rugby, gymnastics or dressage, takes years of rigorous training and determination - and only when you make the team does the real work begin.
Over the course of a professional career athletes can expect to do several days of grueling conditioning and drills each week, and that’s on top of any matches or competitions they participate in. Their diets are closely regulated in order to fuel their best performance, and when things go awry, they have to endure what can sometimes be extended periods of recovery work and rehabilitation. Staying in top physical form is essential to having a successful career.
Until one day, when that hard-won career comes to an end – by choice or through injury - and the time comes to step down from professional sport.But what happens next?
The effects of physical transition from a life of sports
Unsurprisingly, the transition from a life of relentless structured activity and exercise, to one without, can be difficult for the retiring professional athlete. This is no truer than when a devastating injury spells a sudden career end despite several prospective years ahead.
Former England Rugby 7s captain and recently appointed Wales 7s coach Ollie Phillips spoke poignantly in a BBC interview of his challenges after retiring due to an injury, saying: “it felt as though I had been robbed of my rights and the dreams that I was hoping to achieve. […] It's such a destructive experience on a personal level - everything is affected by it.”
This shift, especially when sudden, to a more sedate life can be physically challenging! Yes, that’s right. Used to organised training regimens, prescribed diet plans and treatments administered by various medical practitioners, the retiring athlete may be unsure of how to keep their body healthy and stay active whilst scaling back from their former inflexible routines. The change in lifestyle can even result in an increase in daily discomfort: there have been cases of recently retired athletes experiencing more pain and discomfort in body parts they didn’t pay heed to previously. These aches may be due to the loss of physical conditioning that helped maintain their bodies whilst they were active in the sport. It may be due to the prodigious variety of pain killers they had access to. It may simply be because they are now less distracted by the continuous soreness caused by the rigours of routine sport participation (ask any current professional rugby union or league player and most will say that they are never pain-free).
Regardless of the cause, the effect of this new pain and discomfort can be critical for some, making even trivial tasks like getting up and going downstairs in the morning, or playing with their children, a major issue.
The body and the mind are equally important
Retiring from elite sport is a major risk factor for psychological distress. Physical limitations at the time of retirement may limit the activities a retired athlete is able to do. For most, continued participation in sports and exercise maintains a life-long habit. For some, it sates the need for physicality and competition. Many simply enjoy the camaraderie. Training for a life at the top of your game is an all-encompassing task, often started at a very young age: for many athletes their identity was/is predicated on their physical prowess. Physical limitations at the time of retirement can have a hugely detrimental effect to adjusting to a life after sports.
In recent years there has been growing focus on the mental health implications of athlete transition out of a professional career – which is necessary and welcomed. However, despite the known impact of chronic pain and disability on mental well-being, to my knowledge there is little being done to address the physical side. Once an athlete retires, either through injury or design, in many cases they are left to their own devices. Some may need restorative surgery whilst others may need to undergo a supervised rehabilitation process that can be difficult to coordinate outside of the unique sporting environment they just came from.
A privilege or an entitlement?
Provision for medical support after retirement from professional sports is not a case of extended privilege, but a matter of entitlement. Retiring athletes are as entitled as any institutionalised individual transitioning from one way of life to another.
The reality is that after years of training and competition, professional athletes will have different expectations when it comes to accessing healthcare. Obviously, such privileged ease of access cannot continue indefinitely as it does not do the individual any favours whilst adjusting to life on “civvy street” but, there is that period of transition when access to medical care is necessary; one less thing to worry about whilst trying to figure out what comes next.
The elephant in the room
So who should be responsible for this critical period of transition and - let’s be frank - who should pay for it?
• Should it be the individual who makes a Faustian pact for a career in sports, aware of the risks they face?
• Is it the club or professional league who benefitted from the services of the athlete?
• The sport’s National Governing Body?
• Or is it The Player’s Union, with contributions from all of the above?
I doubt there is a one-answer-fits-all solution and it will vary depending on each sport, a genuine need to be met, and/or the appetite of its stakeholders, but it is an elephant in the room that we need to address.
So what should the future look like?
Ending a professional sporting career should begin with an exit medical allowing individuals to understand their physical health, accept their limitations and identify their ambitions for future physical activity, amongst other things. There is a huge potential for this kind of evaluation and goal setting to mitigate the risk of physical and psychological issues developing in the short-term.
It shouldn’t stop there though. Depending on the sport, follow up should be encouraged and may be essential to understanding the longer-term ramifications of performing at the highest levels of sports and athleticism. Examples of existing programmes that aim to achieve this are the NFL Player Care Foundation Healthy Body & Mind Screening Program, and The Injured Jockeys Fund in the UK. These programmes should be encouraged and expanded, particularly for the larger participation sports that place value on the physicality of its participants.
It is time we recognise that the physical toll of a life in professional sports doesn’t end with leaving the team, or the hanging up of boots. In many ways, that’s just the beginning.
It’s time we recognise that these amazing individuals who entertain and inspire us will be ex-athletes much longer than they were professional athletes - and many more besides will reach the highest echelons of their sport without ever reaping the life-changing rewards we associate with professional status.
It is important that we don’t allow their ambition to reach the top come at the expense of their long-term health.
Ademola Adejuwon
Consultant Musculoskeletal, Sports and Exercise Medicine at ELSTREE OUTPATIENT CENTRE LLP
Transitioning out of a life in professional sports is hard enough without the added burden of aches, pains and physical limitations. Is there a physical toll we should be addressing? Discuss...
Since the conception of this piece I am glad to see that the English Rugby Players' Association (RPA), through its collaboration with The Fortius Clinic, is taking steps to address the issue in the sport.
Over the course of a professional career athletes can expect to do several days of grueling conditioning and drills each week, and that’s on top of any matches or competitions they participate in. Their diets are closely regulated in order to fuel their best performance, and when things go awry, they have to endure what can sometimes be extended periods of recovery work and rehabilitation. Staying in top physical form is essential to having a successful career.
Until one day, when that hard-won career comes to an end – by choice or through injury - and the time comes to step down from professional sport.But what happens next?
The effects of physical transition from a life of sports
Unsurprisingly, the transition from a life of relentless structured activity and exercise, to one without, can be difficult for the retiring professional athlete. This is no truer than when a devastating injury spells a sudden career end despite several prospective years ahead.
Former England Rugby 7s captain and recently appointed Wales 7s coach Ollie Phillips spoke poignantly in a BBC interview of his challenges after retiring due to an injury, saying: “it felt as though I had been robbed of my rights and the dreams that I was hoping to achieve. […] It's such a destructive experience on a personal level - everything is affected by it.”
This shift, especially when sudden, to a more sedate life can be physically challenging! Yes, that’s right. Used to organised training regimens, prescribed diet plans and treatments administered by various medical practitioners, the retiring athlete may be unsure of how to keep their body healthy and stay active whilst scaling back from their former inflexible routines. The change in lifestyle can even result in an increase in daily discomfort: there have been cases of recently retired athletes experiencing more pain and discomfort in body parts they didn’t pay heed to previously. These aches may be due to the loss of physical conditioning that helped maintain their bodies whilst they were active in the sport. It may be due to the prodigious variety of pain killers they had access to. It may simply be because they are now less distracted by the continuous soreness caused by the rigours of routine sport participation (ask any current professional rugby union or league player and most will say that they are never pain-free).
Regardless of the cause, the effect of this new pain and discomfort can be critical for some, making even trivial tasks like getting up and going downstairs in the morning, or playing with their children, a major issue.
The body and the mind are equally important
Retiring from elite sport is a major risk factor for psychological distress. Physical limitations at the time of retirement may limit the activities a retired athlete is able to do. For most, continued participation in sports and exercise maintains a life-long habit. For some, it sates the need for physicality and competition. Many simply enjoy the camaraderie. Training for a life at the top of your game is an all-encompassing task, often started at a very young age: for many athletes their identity was/is predicated on their physical prowess. Physical limitations at the time of retirement can have a hugely detrimental effect to adjusting to a life after sports.
In recent years there has been growing focus on the mental health implications of athlete transition out of a professional career – which is necessary and welcomed. However, despite the known impact of chronic pain and disability on mental well-being, to my knowledge there is little being done to address the physical side. Once an athlete retires, either through injury or design, in many cases they are left to their own devices. Some may need restorative surgery whilst others may need to undergo a supervised rehabilitation process that can be difficult to coordinate outside of the unique sporting environment they just came from.
A privilege or an entitlement?
Provision for medical support after retirement from professional sports is not a case of extended privilege, but a matter of entitlement. Retiring athletes are as entitled as any institutionalised individual transitioning from one way of life to another.
The reality is that after years of training and competition, professional athletes will have different expectations when it comes to accessing healthcare. Obviously, such privileged ease of access cannot continue indefinitely as it does not do the individual any favours whilst adjusting to life on “civvy street” but, there is that period of transition when access to medical care is necessary; one less thing to worry about whilst trying to figure out what comes next.
The elephant in the room
So who should be responsible for this critical period of transition and - let’s be frank - who should pay for it?
• Should it be the individual who makes a Faustian pact for a career in sports, aware of the risks they face?
• Is it the club or professional league who benefitted from the services of the athlete?
• The sport’s National Governing Body?
• Or is it The Player’s Union, with contributions from all of the above?
I doubt there is a one-answer-fits-all solution and it will vary depending on each sport, a genuine need to be met, and/or the appetite of its stakeholders, but it is an elephant in the room that we need to address.
So what should the future look like?
Ending a professional sporting career should begin with an exit medical allowing individuals to understand their physical health, accept their limitations and identify their ambitions for future physical activity, amongst other things. There is a huge potential for this kind of evaluation and goal setting to mitigate the risk of physical and psychological issues developing in the short-term.
It shouldn’t stop there though. Depending on the sport, follow up should be encouraged and may be essential to understanding the longer-term ramifications of performing at the highest levels of sports and athleticism. Examples of existing programmes that aim to achieve this are the NFL Player Care Foundation Healthy Body & Mind Screening Program, and The Injured Jockeys Fund in the UK. These programmes should be encouraged and expanded, particularly for the larger participation sports that place value on the physicality of its participants.
It is time we recognise that the physical toll of a life in professional sports doesn’t end with leaving the team, or the hanging up of boots. In many ways, that’s just the beginning.
It’s time we recognise that these amazing individuals who entertain and inspire us will be ex-athletes much longer than they were professional athletes - and many more besides will reach the highest echelons of their sport without ever reaping the life-changing rewards we associate with professional status.
It is important that we don’t allow their ambition to reach the top come at the expense of their long-term health.
Ademola Adejuwon
Consultant Musculoskeletal, Sports and Exercise Medicine at ELSTREE OUTPATIENT CENTRE LLP
Transitioning out of a life in professional sports is hard enough without the added burden of aches, pains and physical limitations. Is there a physical toll we should be addressing? Discuss...
Since the conception of this piece I am glad to see that the English Rugby Players' Association (RPA), through its collaboration with The Fortius Clinic, is taking steps to address the issue in the sport.
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Peej
- Posts: 1756
- Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2016 12:01 pm
Re: Should we be concerned about the physical toll on athletes after a life in professional sports?
I think we absolutely should be. Reading the catalogue of injuries that Hartley and Haskell have after their careers, and the implications and conditions they now live with, it's been utterly savage. These are young men with more aches and pains than a 70 year old.
Side note: Ollie Phillips is one of the good ones. He and I overlapped slightly at university, but never knew each other, but then randomly I bumped into him on a Tube train and he was great fun to talk to.
Side note: Ollie Phillips is one of the good ones. He and I overlapped slightly at university, but never knew each other, but then randomly I bumped into him on a Tube train and he was great fun to talk to.