Collegiate athletes’ experience of the meaning of sport injury: A phenomenological investigation

Abstract

Aims: In this study, a phenomenological approach was used to gain an in-depth understanding of the meaning collegiate athletes derive from their injury experience. The integrated model of sport injury developed by Wiese-Bjornstal and colleagues¹ served as the conceptual framework for the study.

Methods: Elite athletes (n = 5) at one National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I university in the USA participated in phenomenological interviews at three different points post-injury and prior to return to participation in their respective sports. The first interview was conducted within seven days post-injury, while the second and third interviews were conducted 15—20 days post-injury and at least 30 days post-injury, respectively.

Results: Inductive analysis of the interview data revealed that while participants’ experiences varied somewhat and fluctuated over time, the meaning they derived from the experience was characterized by four major themes: perspective, emotion, coping and relationships. Subsequent deductive analysis indicated a modest fit of each athlete’s experience within the integrated model of sport injury and rehabilitation developed by Wiese-Bjornstal et al.¹

Conclusion: Participants’ psychological responses to sport injury were generally consistent with the Wiese-Bjornstal et al.¹ model but the meaning of the experience was highly individualized and seemed to evolve over the course of the injury and rehabilitation process.

Keywords

behavioural response cognitive appraisal emotional response rehabilitation sport injury

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