Weight Loss & Injury in High School Wrestlers

The Importance of Weight Classes

• Gaining an advantage over your opponents is an important aspect of any sport. In wrestling, weight classes are often used to help create those advantages. A wrestler whose natural weight is 150 lb. may try to cut down to 135, so he would have a strength advantage over the opponent. This plays a part in creating the best roster for a team as some wrestlers may be willing to lose more weight than others, allowing a coach to organize a team with his best athletes rather than those who just make weight.

Dangers of Extreme Weight Cutting

• Weight loss is a goal for many people when they work out. However, the weight cutting that is practiced in some wrestling rooms and gyms goes far beyond normal circumstances. Some wrestlers have gone to great lengths to lose up to 10 lbs. in one week to make weight for their matches. This practice is extremely unhealthy, especially for adolescents and their developing bodies. Preparation for the wrestling season normally begins in late October, and the season opens in November. Beginning a training program in August would allow a wrestler to safely lose weight for the upcoming season. A carefully structured program can allow for a loss of 2 lbs. per week, which would place a wrestler in a prime position to compete at lower weight classes. Constructing a diet plan that removes junk foods and other less nutritious items while participating in moderate physical training is safer than waiting until the season starts and then trying to lose large amounts of weight.

  When people begin to lose weight, they lose extra fat cells that have been stored away. These losses are healthy for their bodies because they may cut away weight that could lead to such problems as joint pain, diabetes or heart attacks. Yet, high school athletes have very few of these fat cells. Wrestlers who continue to lose high amounts of weight are actually losing muscle mass and other vital cells to their bodies.

  Physical signs will begin to show through as your body struggles with sudden, drastic weight loss. Chronic headaches, severe muscle cramps, nose bleeds and tendinitis can be beginning signs of problems. Extreme cases have seen the body shut down from the stress and dehydration, which has led to death. High-intensity training sessions coupled with wrestlers wearing layer upon layer of clothing is unsafe. Eating disorders have also begin to appear in wrestlers as they try to "purge" themselves in a last-ditch effort to make weight. It's important to understand your limits when losing weight for competition standards and not push yourself into the danger zone.

Strategies to Safely Cut Weight

• Coaches, school athletic officials and concerned parents have worked to put safeguards in place to keep high school wrestlers from putting themselves in danger. When properly followed, these regulations help a wrestler lose weight safely, while still being able to compete at a high level. For example, at the start of each season, wrestlers are mandated to take a hydration test to ensure that each participant is well-hydrated. If a wrestler were to fail the test, he would not be allowed to compete until he successfully passed the test.

  State departments of education have begun to administer this test at different points during the season to make sure their team is staying healthy. South Carolina, for example, has trained testers who make random visits to schools to conduct exams such as the hydration test. Officials have also used such regulations within body mass index testing to determine how low a wrestler can go when cutting weight before stepping into a dangerous area.

  Parents must work with their children to make sure they are making the right decisions when it comes to safely losing weight. Sadly, not all coaches step in at the right moment to keep their athletes from making the wrong choices about their own health, so the parents must also make a conscious effort to know exactly what is going on.

Other Injuries Facing High School Wrestlers

• Wrestlers face other injuries during competition. Research has shown that injuries to the shoulders and knees are more prevalent. These joints often find themselves twisted into abnormal positions because of the physical nature and speed of the sport. These injuries can occur from the impact of a slam, during a scramble for position on the mat or any other time during a match. Learning proper techniques will not only improve your abilities as a wrestler but help you be safer as well since you will wrestle with more know-how and control.

  A 2006 study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on sports-related injuries among high school students found wrestling to be second to football when it comes to total injuries. As with any activity, the risk of injury will always be present, so it's important that those involved learn how to cut down on those risks.

Steps to Avoid Injury

• The best step to avoiding serious injury is through preparation. Proper daily training keeps wrestlers in the shape needed to stay ready for competition. Because wrestling matches can contort the body, a wrestler must be sure to work on his flexibility. Add a stretching program to your workout. It's important to work on all the points of your body to try an avoid an injury that may occur from hyperextension.

  Other parts of the daily workout plan should include cardiovascular and strength training. Youth programs have begun to show athletes how to properly prepare to be an amateur wrestler. These programs have helped children and young adults understand safe weight loss, as well as correct training techniques. In high school, it's important for coaches to monitor their students and keep parents involved with training for the rigors of a wrestling season.

  Parents need to keep a working line of communication with the coaches and their children. Some students may feel the pressure of competing while hurt or taking dangerous measures to cut weight in order to "help" the team. These situations must be avoided and honest dialogue is the best way to do so. As with all sports, injuries are bound to happen and when they do, proper response is the first step to ensure a quick and healthy recover.