Just how healthy is professional sports?

The olympic games are an amazing example of what the human body is capable of doing, bringing together fittest people with peak performances. The athletes have dedicated their lives to optimizing their bodies to be able to do whatever their sport is asking from them. Not an easy task, physically as well as mentally. How healthy are pro sports to the human body and mind?

What high impact training does to the body

Athletes work every day on developing their exceptional physical abilities, which leads them to top level of strength. Training, mostly endurance sports, improve your cardiovascular health, which helps to lower the risk of heart disease. To increase the power needed for a certain sport athletes work on their muscular strength and flexibility. The importance of strong muscles is further explained in this blog. Next to that, high-impact sport increase bone density, reducing the risk of fractures and of osteoporosis.

Intensive exercise can lead to a sports heart. The heart is a muscle, so like other muscles, it can get bigger with exercise. In a sports heart, the resting heart rate is lower than normal. A normal heart beats about 60-80 times per minute, which is 40-60 beats per minute in a sports heart. It usually occurs in endurance athletes. A harmless change of the body, adapting to what the user asks of it!

How does professional sports effect the mind?

Regular exercise promotes the production of endorphins, which can help reduce stress and promote positive feelings. Athletes learn valuable skills like perseverance, discipline and stress management, which also come in handy in everyday life. Physical exercise is linked to improved brain function, including better memory, concentration, and problem-solving skills.

Top athletes often experience tremendous pressure to perform, both from themselves and from coaches, sponsors and fans. This constant pressure can lead to stress, anxiety and even depression. The balance between competition and mental well-being can sometimes be difficult to maintain.

What are the dangers of professional sports?

There’s a flipside of the life of an athlete, the dangers of putting your body in sport-mode. Like everything there is a thing as too much exercise, causing the following downsides.

- Higher risk of injuries

Dutch biologist Midas Dekker famously states that sport is not the answer to a healthy body. ‘In the Netherlands alone, there are 2 million people getting injured from working out. That sports automatically make you healthy, as a biologist I can contradict. Of all the animal species out there, there is not one that sports. Of course you should exercise, but there is a difference between a healthy dose of exercise and fanatical sports"

Although the benefits of athletic activity are significant, too much activity can lead to injury. Sports injuries are divided into two broad categories, acute and chronic injuries. Acute injuries happen suddenly, when a person falls, receives a blow, or twists a joint, while chronic injuries usually result from overuse of one area of the body and develop gradually over time. Examples of acute injuries are sprains and dislocations, while some common chronic injuries are shin splints and stress fractures.

- The Mental strain of competition

The psychological pressure of competing at an elite level can be overwhelming and can cause stress and anxiety. The relentless training schedule can result in physical and mental burnout, reducing the joy and passion for the sport.

- Heart issues amongst sporters

Less visual than the injuries stated before, is the strain that excessive working out takes on the heart. Exercise makes the heart stronger, but the extra impact increases some risks.

Intensive training can sometimes reveal underlying heart problems. Doping, which we will touch on shortly, and the stress the pressure to perform constantly can also contribute to the risk. In addition, electrolyte disturbances and dehydration, often due to extreme exercise and insufficient recovery, can increase the risk of cardiac arhythmias.

Although the health benefits to exercise are well-documented, athletic competitions may on rare occasion experience sudden cardiac death. Hartstilstanden bij atleten zijn zeldzaam, maar kunnen verwoestende gevolgen hebben. Sudden cardiac death amongst athletes happens to approximately 1 in 50,000 to 1 in 300,000 athletes per year according to the most recent estimates in these recent 10-20 years. Although rare, sudden cardiac death in the athlete is a traumatic event that has a large impact on society. They can be caused by congenital heart defects, such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, as well as acquired conditions such as myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and coronary heart disease.

What are the dangers of doping?

Doping refers to the use of banned substances or methods to enhance sports performance. This can range from anabolic steroids to stimulants and blood doping. Medication is cheating, but it also puts the body at risk.

Anabolic steroids can lead to liver and kidney problems, hormonal imbalances and increased aggression. Blood doping, such as the use of erythropoietin (EPO), can increase the risk of blood clots, strokes and heart attacks. Moreover, stimulants can lead to serious heart problems and addiction.

Do athletes live shorter?

Quite the opposite! The report ‘Marathon or sprint: Do elite-level athletes live longer than average?’ used data of medal winners that performed in the Common Wealth Games, to discover the life expectancy of athletes.

The report by Prof Les Mayhew and Ray Algar, says that in male competitors in aquatic sports, longevity was increased by 29%, equating to 5.3 extra years of life. There was a 25% increase for male track competitors and 24% for those who took part in indoor sport competitions, while the longevity of female competitors across all sports categories was boosted by 22% – or 3.9 extra years of life.

The only type of sport that is not linked to living longer was cycling, where the longevity of male competitors was only 90% of that of the general population. The author noted that this will probably change as the sport made more adaptations to make it safer.

So, how healthy is it?

It goes without saying that sports bring a lot of benefits to the body and mind. Athletes are under lots of supervision to ensure they are mentally and physically at their best abilities. The intensity of sport as a profession is not without risks, like injuries, stress heart issues and the temptation of taking medical enhancements as doping. The risk of injuries depends on the type of sport, the guidance and support, and each different body and mind. Finding the balance between training and recovery and taking the time for mental health is essential. In the end it is what the individual makes of it. The human body is made to move!