{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,12]],"date-time":"2026-08-12T12:56:57Z","timestamp":1786539417540,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,21]],"date-time":"2022-12-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1671580800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychiatry"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In the last years, only few studies in literature have focused on the use and abuse of benzodiazepines (BZDs) in sport. Benzodiazepine-related problems include misuse, addiction, driving impairments, and morbidity and mortality related to overdose and withdrawal. Two clinical cases regarding elite endurance athletes evidenced that they had started to use BZDs to counteract insomnia, to recover faster from training sessions and to manage muscle pain. One of the important points that emerged from their stories was that their sports doctors did not recognize the drugs\u2019 addictive properties, and did not intervene to gradually reduce the dosage. Experts have previously provided recommendations for BZD therapy management in clinical practice. In this article, we would like to address sports medicine physicians specifically and provide guidelines to help them manage situations involving BZD prescription, the recognition of addiction, and intervention strategies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2022.1066330","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,21]],"date-time":"2022-12-21T04:37:15Z","timestamp":1671597435000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Benzodiazepines in sport, an underestimated problem: Recommendations for sports medicine physicians\u2019 practice"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Thomas","family":"Zandonai","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ana Mar\u00eda","family":"Peir\u00f3","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francesca","family":"Fusina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fabio","family":"Lugoboni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lorenzo","family":"Zamboni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2115","DOI":"10.5664\/jcsm.9476","article-title":"Sleep is essential to health: an American academy of sleep medicine position statement.","volume":"17","author":"Ramar","year":"2021","journal-title":"J Clin Sleep Med."},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"356","DOI":"10.1136\/bjsports-2020-102025","article-title":"Sleep and the athlete: narrative review and 2021 expert consensus recommendations.","volume":"55","author":"Walsh","year":"2021","journal-title":"Br J Sports Med."},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2029","DOI":"10.1007\/s40279-021-01502-0","article-title":"Managing travel fatigue and jet lag in athletes: a review and consensus statement.","volume":"51","author":"Janse van Rensburg","year":"2021","journal-title":"Sport Med."},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"286","DOI":"10.1249\/JSR.0000000000000849","article-title":"Sleep and injury risk.","volume":"20","author":"Huang","year":"2021","journal-title":"Curr Sports Med Rep."},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"197","DOI":"10.1016\/j.smrv.2007.07.007","article-title":"Restricted and disrupted sleep: effects on autonomic function, neuroendocrine stress systems and stress responsivity.","volume":"12","author":"Meerlo","year":"2008","journal-title":"Sleep Med Rev."},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"722","DOI":"10.1136\/bjsports-2019-100620","article-title":"Determinants of anxiety in elite athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.","volume":"53","author":"Rice","year":"2019","journal-title":"Br J Sports Med."},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"700","DOI":"10.1136\/bjsports-2019-100671","article-title":"Occurrence of mental health symptoms and disorders in current and former elite athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.","volume":"53","author":"Gouttebarge","year":"2019","journal-title":"Br J Sports Med."},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3359","DOI":"10.1007\/s00213-018-5047-9","article-title":"A risk for athletes: when the desire to sleep becomes a nightmare. 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