Sleep Problems, Pain, And Injury Severity Among Chinese Elite Table Tennis Athletes: A Cross-sectional Study

Ensuring peak performance among athletes requires effective management of health risks, including sleep problems, which the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has identified as a prevalent issue among elite athletes. Poor sleep quality negatively affects athletic performance, increasing reaction time, lowering endurance, and elevating injury risk. Although recent studies highlight the importance of sleep, comprehensive data across sports disciplines and its relationship with pain still need to be explored. PURPOSE: To investigate the sleep status of elite athletes from the Chinese table tennis team and to explore the correlation between sleep problems, pain, and injury severity. METHODS: We surveyed 60 Chinese National Table Tennis Team athletes from October 2021 to March 2022. Participants completed independent questionnaires on sleep, pain, and injury. RESULTS: Univariate analysis showed that the scores of Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center Questionnaire on Health Problems (OSTRC-H), the scores of Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), and the usage of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were all related to sleep health (OR = 1.12, 95% CI 1.06-1.19, p < 0.001; OR = 2.40, 95% CI 1.51-3.80, p < 0.001; OR = 0.15, 95% CI 0.05-0.49, p = 0.002). Multivariate analysis showed that both OSTRC-H scores (OR = 1.20, 95% CI 1.08-1.33, p = 0.001) and NSAIDs (OR = 0.02, 95% CI 0.00-0.27, p = 0.003) were associated with the incidence of sleep problems. With the optimized cut-off at 20 scores of OSTRC-H, the sensitivity was 78.95%, the specificity was 90.91% for distinguishing sleep problems. CONCLUSION: The relationship between sleep disturbances and the severity of pain and injury was notably pronounced. Both injury and sleep quality significantly influence an athlete's rehabilitation process. Poor management of these factors can trigger a detrimental cycle that hinders effective recovery.