TY - JOUR
T1 - Cognitive behavioral stress management effects on injury and illness among competitive athletes
T2 - A randomized clinical trial
AU - Perna, Frank M.
AU - Antoni, Michael H.
AU - Baum, Andrew
AU - Gordon, Paul
AU - Schneiderman, Neil
PY - 2003
Y1 - 2003
N2 - Cognitive behavioral stress management (CBSM) has previously been found to reduce fatigue, depression, and cortisol response to heavy exercise training among competitive collegiate athletes and to speed physical and psychological recovery from surgery (1,2). Our study assessed the efficacy of a CBSM program to reduce the frequency of injury and illness among collegiate athletes in a randomized, single-blind, controlled clinical trial. Following assessment of baseline medical history, mood state, stress, cortisol, sleep, alcohol use, and exercise training, collegiate rowers were stratified by gender and competitive level and randomly assigned to either a control group or a CBSM group. Exercise training information andpsychosocial assessments were repeated immediately following the intervention period, and health care providers who were blinded to participant assignment recorded the frequency of medical visits and the number of days injured or ill until the end of the season. Athletes randomly assigned to a CBSM group experienced significant reductions in the number of illness and injury days as compared to control group athletes. CBSM participants also had half the number of health service visits as did controls. The data suggest that a time-limited CBSM intervention designed specifically for an athlete population may be an effective prophylactic treatment to reduce the incidence of injury and illness among competitive collegiate athletes.
AB - Cognitive behavioral stress management (CBSM) has previously been found to reduce fatigue, depression, and cortisol response to heavy exercise training among competitive collegiate athletes and to speed physical and psychological recovery from surgery (1,2). Our study assessed the efficacy of a CBSM program to reduce the frequency of injury and illness among collegiate athletes in a randomized, single-blind, controlled clinical trial. Following assessment of baseline medical history, mood state, stress, cortisol, sleep, alcohol use, and exercise training, collegiate rowers were stratified by gender and competitive level and randomly assigned to either a control group or a CBSM group. Exercise training information andpsychosocial assessments were repeated immediately following the intervention period, and health care providers who were blinded to participant assignment recorded the frequency of medical visits and the number of days injured or ill until the end of the season. Athletes randomly assigned to a CBSM group experienced significant reductions in the number of illness and injury days as compared to control group athletes. CBSM participants also had half the number of health service visits as did controls. The data suggest that a time-limited CBSM intervention designed specifically for an athlete population may be an effective prophylactic treatment to reduce the incidence of injury and illness among competitive collegiate athletes.
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U2 - 10.1207/S15324796ABM2501_09
DO - 10.1207/S15324796ABM2501_09
M3 - Article
C2 - 12581938
AN - SCOPUS:0037262738
VL - 25
SP - 66
EP - 73
JO - Annals of Behavioral Medicine
JF - Annals of Behavioral Medicine
SN - 0883-6612
IS - 1
ER -