Global practitioner assessment and management of mental fatigue and mental recovery in high‐performance sport: A need for evidence‐based best‐practice guidelines

Author:

Russell S.123ORCID,Johnston R. D.14ORCID,Stanimirovic R.2,Halson S. L.1ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Sports Performance, Recovery, Injury and New Technologies Research Centre (SPRINT), Faculty of Health Sciences Australian Catholic University Brisbane Queensland Australia

2. Performance Services Australian Institute of Sport Bruce Australian Capital Territory Australia

3. Sport Performance Innovation and Knowledge Excellence (SPIKE) Queensland Academy of Sport Nathan Queensland Australia

4. Carnegie Applied Rugby Research Centre (CARR), Institute for Sport, Physical Activity and Leisure Leeds Beckett University Leeds UK

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundMental fatigue and mental recovery have gained scientific attention in relation to sporting performance, yet best practice assessment and management methods are lacking. A greater understanding of current knowledge and practices in high‐performance sport are necessary.ObjectiveTo understand the contemporary knowledge, beliefs, monitoring processes, management strategies, perceived responsibility, sources of evidence, and challenges, when assessing the mental fatigue and mental recovery of athletes in high‐performance sport.MethodsA mixed‐methods survey approach obtained information from 156 multi‐disciplinary high‐performance sport practitioners. Descriptive outputs were reported and potential differences between key concepts were detected using Wilcoxon‐signed rank analysis. Thematic analysis interpreted open‐text responses.ResultsOnly 11.5% and 5.1% of respondents indicated they were “very” knowledgeable about mental fatigue and mental recovery, respectively. Knowledge (p < 0.001) and confidence in application (p = 0.001) were significantly greater for mental fatigue than mental recovery. Nearly all respondents perceived mental fatigue and mental recovery impacted training and competition performance, with a greater negative impact during competition (p < 0.001). A limited number of respondents reported deliberate assessment (31.1%) or management (51.2%) of mental fatigue and mental recovery. A combination of sources of evidence were used to inform practice, with common challenges to implementation including staff knowledge, athlete‐buy in, time‐availability, and a lack of evidence. Practitioners reported that assessing and managing mental fatigue and mental recovery was multi‐disciplinary in nature.ConclusionPractitioners reported that mental fatigue and mental recovery did impact performance, yet this was not reflected in the implementation of evidence‐based assessment and management practices in high‐performance sport.

Funder

Centre of Excellence and Applied Sport Science Research, Queensland Academy of Sport

Publisher

Wiley

Subject

Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation,Orthopedics and Sports Medicine

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