Monitoring levels of stress and overtraining in an elite brazilian female volleyball athlete: case study

Abstract

Overtraining is the result of an imbalance between stress and recovery, in addition to short recovery time and psychosocial events. In this case study, a questionnaire of stress and recovery in sports was used to assess the level of overtraining of an elite female Brazilian volleyball player. The results showed that the heavy loads caused changes in the athlete’s profile, resulting in an increase in the fatigue scales. The recovery periods were fundamental to restore her physical and psychological capacities. Finally, the method used detected changes in the athlete’s profile after acute events, such as an unexpected defeat. We concluded that changes in the profile of the curve, showed by the instrument, reflected the different moments of the collection, thus reflecting the change in the stress overload. Therefore, the detection or monitoring of stressing factors might be valuable to improve the physical and psychological performance of a team.