Maffulli, Nicola; (1992) The effects of intensive training on the musculo-skeletal system of elite young athletes. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

The effects of intensive training on the musculo­ skeletal system of 453 elite young athletes practising football, gymnastics, swimming and tennis were followed for two years. The study was a mixed longitudinal design, and five cohorts took part in it, covering the period between nine and 18 years of age. Three aspects were studied, namely injuries, flexibility, and isometric skeletal strength. Intensively trained elite young athletes did not appear to be injured as often as suggested by an increasing number of recent reports. When they were indeed injured, the impact of the injury, as judged by the time off training taken, was not serious. No inca­pacitating injuries were encountered during the study, and no athletes were obliged to give their sport up because of injury. Flexibility was shown to be sport specific, and, to some extent, joint specific. Upper and lower body flexibility were shown to be independent of each other, thus reinforcing the concept of training speci­ficity for optimal sports performance. Isometric strength of the upper (elbow flexors) and lower body (knee extensors) was within previously described normal ranges, although the athletes in this study were at the highest centiles of the norm.

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