A longitudinal investigation of competitive athletes' return to sport following serious injury

Citation

Podlog L & Eklund R (2006) A longitudinal investigation of competitive athletes' return to sport following serious injury. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 18 (1), pp. 44-68. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200500471319

Abstract
Returning to sport following a serious injury can be a difficult process for competitive athletes (Bianco, 20012. Bianco, T. 2001. Social support and recovery from sport injury: Elite skiers share their experiences. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport., 72: 376-388. [PUBMED][INFOTRIEVE][CSA] View all references; Bianco, Malo, & Orlick, 19993. Bianco, T., Malo, S. and Orlick, T. 1999. Sport injury and illness: Elite skiers describe their experiences. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport., 70: 157-169. [PUBMED][INFOTRIEVE][CSA] View all references; Gould, Udry, Bridges, & Beck, 199717. Gould, D., Udry, E., Bridges, D. and Beck, L. 1997. Stress sources encountered when rehabilitating from season-ending ski injuries. The Sport Psychologist., 11: 361-378. [CSA] View all references). Unfortunately, no qualitative longitudinal studies were found that examine athlete return-to-sport experiences following injury recovery. The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of competitive athletes' returning to sport following a serious injury over a period of up to 8-months. Salient themes relating to motives to return to sport, return-to-sport appraisals and emotions and decision-making processes were identified in participant interviews. Athletes also described their experiences in overcoming return-to-sport fears and concerns, and how they dealt with adversity. Finally, the enjoyable aspects of the return to competition and the positive consequences of injury were articulated. Findings from this research indicate that self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 200029. Ryan, R. M. and Deci, E. L. 2000. Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist., 55: 68-78. [PUBMED][INFOTRIEVE][CSA][CROSSREF] View all references) may offer a valuable framework for coaches and practitioners hoping to better understand and assist athletes with the return-to-sport process.

Journal
Journal of Applied Sport Psychology: Volume 18, Issue 1