Atalaoui et al reported a simple questionnaire to measure fatigue in elite swimmers participating in a training program. This can help identify fatigue and its effects on the athlete. The authors are from Faculty of Medicine Jean Monnet , Toulouse Olympic Student Club and Laboratory of Neurogenetic and Stress Bourdeaux in France.
Patient selection: athlete in a training program.
Items:
(1) training more difficult than usual
(2) sleeping more than usual
(3) legs feel heavier than normal
(4) caught a cold
(5) concentration worse than usual
(6) working less efficiently than usual
(7) more anxious and irritable than usual
(8) more stress in life (at home, work, school) than usual
Rating was from 1 (very, very good) to 7 (very, very bad)
In the implementation different wording and rating was used.
Rewording:
(1) training difficulty
(2) sleep
(3) heaviness in legs
(4) susceptibility to colds
(5) ability to concentrate
(6) work efficiency
(7) anxiety and irritability
(8) stress in life
Rating was redone from 0 (not a problem) to 5 (extreme probkem). Alternativelya 10 cm VAS scale from 0 (not a problem) to 10 (extreme problem) could be used.
total score =
= SUM(points for all of the parameters)
Interpretation:
• minimum score: 0
• maximum score: 40 (using 0 to 5 rating scale)
