Eating Disorders in Athletes | Signs of Compulsive & Excessive Exercise

Compulsive exercise is often termed excessive exercise and is characterized by an increased need to physically perform activities. Compulsive exercise may help relieve emotional distress, or to cope with difficult thought processes. It often takes place no matter the injury, illness, lack of nutrients or energy and may feel uncontrollable.

When Excessive Exercise Becomes a Problem

Another complication making the diagnosis of exercise complicity hard is the widespread tenets of diet culture which often glorified exercising in extreme ways as ways of losing weight. In casual chats we hear phrases like, "I am gonna need to take the meal to the gym." Indeed, many of our symptoms of excessive physical activity are acknowledged in society today. This mindset can lead to an unhealthy relationship with exercise compulsion as well as eating disorders.

Warning Signs of Over Exercise and Eating Disorders in Athletes

Recognizing compulsive exercisers can sometimes be difficult due to diet culture's view on exercise often leading to a healthy lifestyle.

Those who are struggling with excessive exercise often struggle to take breaks or days off. This can look like intense anxiety around rest days, rigid exercise regimen, and relative energy deficiency symptoms. This compulsive behavior can lead to negative consequences such as, injuries like shin splints, tendinosis, stress fractures, RED-S, and other medical complications.

Symptoms of Over Exercising

A person with excessive exercise may suffer several negative physical symptoms such as fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and reduced performance.

Almost 40% of those with anorexia nervosa engage in compulsively exercise. Symptoms of overtraining can also look like lethargy and exhausted despite a regular lifestyle or difficulty recovering from injuries, or regular soreness from workouts.

Eating Disorders and Exercise Compulsion Often Go Unnoticed in Sports

When we see compulsive exercise, we often see negative body image, difficulty with mental health, and disordered eating. With this intense focus to detail, excellence, and perfection, when someone is struggling with exercise dependence, eating disorders are usually near by. Eating disorders for these athletes are often misdirected as it can look like dedication to their sport. Unfortunately, the result is often overuse injuries, forcing folks to take time off.

Studies show that more than half of college female athletes exhibit disorders in their eating habits. Another study revealed that 40% of anorexia nervosa patients had a tendency to exercise regularly.

Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD)

Eating disorders and compulsive exercise are often linked to compulsive behaviors such as perfectionism, ruminating thoughts, and anxiety.

OCD is characterized by obsession/compulsions induced by certain stimuli that cause considerable distress when these compulsions cannot remain. Compulsive exercise has commonalities in terms of the desire for exercise and serious distress when deficient from exercise.

Obsession that accompanied compulsively exhibited behaviors can be considered similar to the thoughts of an exercise addict. “If I do not exercise I'll lose strength."

What is Overtraining Syndrome?

Overtraining syndrome occurs in athletes that do not recover from prolonged intense exercise and include fatigue, decreased performance, and possible injuries.

Unfortunately there is not yet an accepted definition for overtraining. However, is seen as accumulation of training or non-training stress leading to an indefinite decrease in performance capacity and a loss of physiological or mental capacity.

Compulsive Exercise or Overtraining?

The biggest difference between compulsive exercising versus overtraining syndrome/overreaching is that compulsive exercise does not always have negative physical effects. Compulsive exercise, however, can lead to overtraining syndrome. Compulsive exercise is usually seen along side disordered eating or an eating disorder.

Challenges: Treatment

In the therapeutic context, there are challenges relating to compliance and motivation to change compulsive exercise behaviors. There is no diagnosis for compulsive exercising in the diagnostic and statistical manual, used to diagnose mental disorders, leading diagnosis and treatment to be difficult for mental health professionals, as well as sports medicine doctors.

Possible treatment difficulties of compulsive exercisers are also a low level of compliance with reducing exercise. Compulsive exercise may lead to injury and a mental health professional should meet with athletes over-training.

As compulsive exercise rarely occurs without symptoms of eating disorder, it has usually been treated similarly to food disorders. During the treatment, the treatment team, consisting of a sports medicine doctor, therapist, and dietitian, will examine all the possible consequences of compulsively exercising. In such circumstances one would often also consult with physical therapists or recovery specialists.

Overall it is common for exercisers to learn about the ways to overcome unhelpful behaviors in their daily lives, in order to reduce harmful consequences.

How to Help Someone with an Eating Disorder

To learn more about therapy for compulsive exercise in athletes, click here. If people are concerned about someone they know who has experienced the pain and discomfort from compulsive exercising, you can reach out to us here for a free 15 minute consultation to see if we would be a good fit. Starting recovery is hard. Taking the first step by reaching out to.a mental health professional is sometimes the hardest. We are here to help make it as smooth as possible.