Pain Education in the Wellness, Training Performance, and Pain Intensity of Youth Athletes: An Experimental Study

Background: Although pain management programs reduce pain and improve wellness perception in the general population, few studies have explored these effects in athletes. This study evaluated the effects of an educational program about pain neuroscience on wellness, training performance, and pain in...

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Main Authors: Andreu Sastre-Munar, Natalia Romero-Franco
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-01-01
Series:Healthcare
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/12/2/215
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author Andreu Sastre-Munar
Natalia Romero-Franco
author_facet Andreu Sastre-Munar
Natalia Romero-Franco
author_sort Andreu Sastre-Munar
collection DOAJ
description Background: Although pain management programs reduce pain and improve wellness perception in the general population, few studies have explored these effects in athletes. This study evaluated the effects of an educational program about pain neuroscience on wellness, training performance, and pain in youth athletes. Differences according to sex were also explored. Methods: For 12 weeks, 52 athletes were randomly assigned to an intervention group (IG: educational program about healthy sports habits and pain neuroscience) or a control group (CG: education on healthy sports habits only). Before the start of the study and weekly until its end, wellness, training performance, and pain intensity were monitored via a questionnaire. Results: After the intervention, IG decreased stress (<i>p</i> = 0.028) compared to the baseline, and a higher number of training sessions were performed without health problems (76.6%) compared to the number in the CG (63.0%) (χ<sup>2</sup> = 8.31, <i>p</i> = 0.004). Regarding pain, the IG perceived lower pain than the CG did (<i>p</i> = 0.028). Females in the IG had lower pain than those in the CG did (<i>p</i> < 0.05), without differences in other variables or in males (<i>p</i> > 0.05). Conclusions: An educational program that includes pain neuroscience may help youth athletes improve their wellness status, pain intensity perception, and training session performance.
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spelling doaj.art-16e4f772d5f14f5b9d0d899d1935c3df2024-01-26T16:46:58ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322024-01-0112221510.3390/healthcare12020215Pain Education in the Wellness, Training Performance, and Pain Intensity of Youth Athletes: An Experimental StudyAndreu Sastre-Munar0Natalia Romero-Franco1Nursing and Physiotherapy Department, University of the Balearic Islands, 07122 Palma de Mallorca, SpainNursing and Physiotherapy Department, University of the Balearic Islands, 07122 Palma de Mallorca, SpainBackground: Although pain management programs reduce pain and improve wellness perception in the general population, few studies have explored these effects in athletes. This study evaluated the effects of an educational program about pain neuroscience on wellness, training performance, and pain in youth athletes. Differences according to sex were also explored. Methods: For 12 weeks, 52 athletes were randomly assigned to an intervention group (IG: educational program about healthy sports habits and pain neuroscience) or a control group (CG: education on healthy sports habits only). Before the start of the study and weekly until its end, wellness, training performance, and pain intensity were monitored via a questionnaire. Results: After the intervention, IG decreased stress (<i>p</i> = 0.028) compared to the baseline, and a higher number of training sessions were performed without health problems (76.6%) compared to the number in the CG (63.0%) (χ<sup>2</sup> = 8.31, <i>p</i> = 0.004). Regarding pain, the IG perceived lower pain than the CG did (<i>p</i> = 0.028). Females in the IG had lower pain than those in the CG did (<i>p</i> < 0.05), without differences in other variables or in males (<i>p</i> > 0.05). Conclusions: An educational program that includes pain neuroscience may help youth athletes improve their wellness status, pain intensity perception, and training session performance.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/12/2/215sportathletespainwellnesseducation
spellingShingle Andreu Sastre-Munar
Natalia Romero-Franco
Pain Education in the Wellness, Training Performance, and Pain Intensity of Youth Athletes: An Experimental Study
Healthcare
sport
athletes
pain
wellness
education
title Pain Education in the Wellness, Training Performance, and Pain Intensity of Youth Athletes: An Experimental Study
title_full Pain Education in the Wellness, Training Performance, and Pain Intensity of Youth Athletes: An Experimental Study
title_fullStr Pain Education in the Wellness, Training Performance, and Pain Intensity of Youth Athletes: An Experimental Study
title_full_unstemmed Pain Education in the Wellness, Training Performance, and Pain Intensity of Youth Athletes: An Experimental Study
title_short Pain Education in the Wellness, Training Performance, and Pain Intensity of Youth Athletes: An Experimental Study
title_sort pain education in the wellness training performance and pain intensity of youth athletes an experimental study
topic sport
athletes
pain
wellness
education
url https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/12/2/215
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