PSYCHOLOGICAL REACTIONS TO SPORT INJURY: AN INTROSPEPCTIVE ANALYSIS
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Authors
L'Esperance, Laurie A.
Issue Date
2000
Type
Thesis
Language
en
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Athletes prepare and perform to be the best that they can be, and when injury occurs, those same athletes must prepare and perform to successfully return to their sport. This study set out to answer three research questions: (a) do athletes' perceived feelings about rehabilitation become more positive overtime?, (b) are the athletes able to realize benefits of the injury process and do the benefits increase over time?, and (c) are the athletes able to recognize their daily accomplishments in rehabilitation, from the beginning of the injury through the rehabilitation regimen. The design was an introspective analysis of the athletes' responses to a series of questions about their rehabilitation process. Five athletes from different sports were interviewed during their recovery from knee surgery. All research questions were answered positively. Results showed that athletes' feelings became substantially more positive over time, perceived amount of benefits from the injury process increased moderately over time, and athletes were able to recognize several daily improvements throughout the rehabilitation regimen. Results were related to prior research and implications were discussed.