Social Factors in Wrestlers' Health Problems

Abstract

In brief: Wrestlers are highly motivated by social pressures to win. These pressures, combined with the physical nature of the sport, may result in injury and illness. Wrestlers tend to take seriously only those health problems that prevent participation, regardless of long-term consequences. Preventive measures include good coaching, rigorous rules governing competition, and skilled enforcement of rules by referees. Physicians can improve wrestlers' health by teaching them about nutrition, communicable disease, the hazards of extreme weight loss, and the prevention and care of injuries. Physicians are needed at wrestling meets to improve the care of acute injuries.