Key result
Pediatric endurance athletes face high risks of overtraining, RED-S, overuse injuries, nutritional deficiencies, and sleep dysfunction.
Why the study?
Literature specific to the care and medical concerns of the pediatric endurance athlete is limited.
Pediatric endurance athletes require multidisciplinary care to address unique risks such as RED-S, overtraining, sleep dysfunction, and exercise-induced cardiac adaptations.
Pediatric endurance athletes warrant vigilance for RED-S and overtraining; leaves open optimal multidisciplinary interventions.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This study aimed to provide an overview of some of the medical concerns surrounding the care of the pediatric endurance athletes and add to the limited literature specific to the pediatric endurance athlete. RECENT FINDINGS: Endurance athletes are at risk for overtraining, relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S), overuse injuries, nutritional deficiencies, and sleep dysfunction. Youth runners and female endurance athletes are particularly high-risk populations for RED-S; nutritional deficiencies and their care should involve thoughtful mitigation of modifiable risk factors. The growing endurance athlete may experience slightly different cardiac adaptations than the adult endurance athlete with the long-term implications of these changes still unclear. Endurance sports are common among youth athletes. Multidisciplinary care that includes screening and early intervention for high-risk areas is critical to optimize their care and promote, safe lifelong sport participation.
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Watkins et al. (2024) conducted a review in Pediatric endurance athletes. Endurance sports participation was evaluated. Pediatric endurance athletes are at high risk for overtraining, relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S), overuse injuries, nutritional deficiencies, and sleep dysfunction.
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