Exercise addiction, pain and injuries in amateur athletes

Purpose: Exercise addiction may lead to more significant physical discomfort. This study aimed to (1) explore whether athletes with a high score on the exercise addiction inventory have more pain and more injuries than those symptomatic; (2) observe whether pain intensity was lower in athletes with a high score on the exercise addiction inventory than those symptomatic, and (3) demonstrate that athletes with a high score on the exercise addiction inventory engage in risky behavior despite exercise contraindication. Methods: A total of 158 amateur athletes who reported spontaneously participating in regular physical activity answered the Exercise Addiction Inventory (EAI) questionnaire. They self-reported their physical activity levels, pains and injuries. Results: Among the 158 amateur athletes, 138 amateur athletes were symptomatic, and 20 were at risk of exercise addiction. Participants who reported pain had a significantly EAI score higher than participants who did not report pain (20.5 ± 3.4 and 19.1 ± 3.3, respectively) (p = 0.01). At some point in their life, 131 received a contraindication to exercise for at least 2 weeks. No significant differences were observed between amateur athletes who did and did not receive contraindication to exercise in regard to their EAI scores (p = 0.07). We observed that those who did not respect these recommendations had significantly higher EAI scores than those who respected these recommendations (p = 0.04). Conclusion: We showed that exercise addiction might touch many amateur athletes according to the EAI questionnaire. Our findings improve our knowledge and reinforce the importance of follow-up in amateur athletes regarding their exercise addiction to help them manage their pain, injuries, and behavioral addiction.