Abstract
The purpose of this thesis was to identify health problems in competitive diving athletes and how these health problems relate to the athlete’s expected performance outcomes. The focus of the thesis was to better understand the health and performance of competitive diving athletes.
It establishes an evidence base for the epidemiology of injuries, illnesses, and mental health (health problems), establishes estimate data for performance outcomes in elite competitive diving, and explores the relationships that exist between health and performance.
There is a scarcity of studies on the epidemiology of health problems in competitive diving.
Study 1 in this thesis includes a systematic review of health problems in competitive diving athletes. The main findings were that injuries to the lumbar spine, shoulder, and wrist, and respiratory illness are common health problems in competitive diving athletes. The evidence was limited to competition periods only and further understanding of health problems in competitive diving athletes would benefit from whole-of-year surveillance.
Study 2 investigated diving performance over a six-year period, establishing estimate scores for positional ranks 1 through 30. Estimates of cut-off scores required to progress through competition were identified for elite competitive diving athletes participating at international benchmark events. The study observed a downward trend in competition scores at international benchmark events between 2016 and 2022.
Study 3 established the epidemiology, including injury incidence, of competitive diving athletes across four consecutive seasons. The findings within this study included establishing injury incidence, injury severity and injury burden in competitive diving athletes. Additional findings of mechanism of injury and separation of findings by diving discipline identified different injury profiles for springboard and platform diving athletes.
Study 4 established for the first time the prevalence of mental health diagnoses outside of international benchmark events. These health problems were identified through a periodic health evaluation. The main findings within this study were the lifetime prevalence of suicidality, and other metal health diagnoses within the cohort.
Study 5 investigated the relationship between performance and health, a longitudinal study investigating relationships between athlete training availability and an athlete’s end-of-season performance. This study identified the relationship between availability and performance measures in competitive diving athletes and the impact of availability on performance.
The results of study 3 identified that diving athletes are often injured, with 421 injuries reported over the four-year period, at an injury incidence rate of 2.36 per 365 athlete days. A high proportion of injuries occurred within the daily training environment (88.6%) in comparison to domestic or international competitions (5.7%). Diving athletes reported a high proportion of injuries most commonly occurring during pool training sessions (59.3%), dryland training
(11.2%), and weight training sessions (9.7%).
Through periodic health evaluations, study 4 identified that diving athletes had a lifetime prevalence of suicidality of 16.2%, while 35.1% met diagnostic criteria for a mental health disorder. Generalised anxiety disorder (24.3%), eating disorders (13.5%), and suicidal ideation (10.8%) were also reported across the population. Mental health disorders are highly prevalent compared to general population. Diving athletes self-reported that health problems reduce their training availability and performance.
The results of study 5 identified that one in five diving athletes were unable to participate in the end-of-season competition due to a health problem. Athletes who miss the end-of-season competition are unable to compete for selection at international benchmark events.
This research contributes to the body of literature establishing a comprehensive review of all health problems that exist in competitive diving athlete populations outside competition periods. Additionally, this research identifies that health problems have a significant impact on diving athletes’ performance. It highlights that there is an underestimate of health burden and the relative impact on performance, particularly if one in five athletes are unable to compete due to a health problem. Given this evidence, sporting organisations are advised to act on the health problems that exist within their athlete population, by further exploring the causation of injury and mental health disorders, and to establish strategies to improve daily training availability that reduce performance outcomes at end-of-season competitions.
| Date of Award | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Supervisor | Liam Toohey (Supervisor), Michael K. Drew (Supervisor), Gordon WADDINGTON (Supervisor), Nick BROWN (Supervisor), Jeremy WITCHALLS (Supervisor) & Michael Hetherington (Supervisor) |