Research on health, pain and performance in young people at sports-focused compulsory schools

In the project “No pain, no gain – pain, quality of life and performance among young people at sports-focused compulsory schools”, we followed young athletes at an upper secondary sports school over a three-year period. We studied their performance development, level of maturity, perceived pain and general health as part of a larger research project: the Malmö Youth Sports Study (MYSS). The results show that pain is relatively common among young athletes, in both girls and boys. Boys who matured later in comparison with their classmates were at greater risk of reporting pain and performed worse in physical tests. For girls, experiencing pain in several parts of the body was a risk factor for continuing to report pain even two years later.

In the follow-up project, we are revisiting the young people after a further three years. Young people who pursue sport are often regarded as healthy, but at the same time risk developing long-term pain. It is therefore important that clubs, coaches and parents are aware of this issue, and that preventive measures are put in place among adolescents and young adults so that pain does not become a long-term condition.