Sleep, Recovery, and Musculoskeletal Injury Risk in Strength and Racquet-Sport Athletes: A Narrative Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/QS.2026.75.75752Keywords
sleep, recovery, musculoskeletal injury, resistance training, strength sports, tennis, badminton, athletic performanceAbstract
Background. Sleep is widely regarded as an important component of athletic recovery, although its relationship with musculoskeletal injury appears to be more complex than is sometimes implied.
Aim. To critically review evidence linking sleep duration and quality with recovery, physical and technical performance, pain, and musculoskeletal injury in strength and racquet-sport athletes.
Material and methods. A targeted narrative search of PubMed was conducted in August 2026. Consensus statements, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, prospective cohorts, controlled sleep-manipulation studies, and sport-specific research were prioritized.
Results. Sleep loss may impair selected physical, cognitive, and sport-specific outcomes. Experimental studies also indicate alterations in skeletal-muscle protein synthesis, selected hormonal and inflammatory responses, and pain perception. Associations between insufficient sleep and injury are more consistent in adolescents than in adults. Sport-specific prospective evidence remains limited.
Conclusions. Sleep is a relevant and modifiable component of recovery. Current evidence, however, does not establish insufficient sleep as an independent risk factor for musculoskeletal injury in adult athletic populations.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Bartosz Cichoń, Maciej Wojtarowicz, Weronika Świt, Krzysztof Zachwieja, Jakub Wodnicki , Krzysztof Prokop , Patryk Dąbrowski
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