A Qualitative Investigation into the Subjective Experience of Injured Male Athletes

Abstract

This paper reports on a qualitative study conducted on the subjective experience of prior injury on male athletes. The goal of the research was to gain a phenomenological understanding of the experience of injury in high performance male athletes. This research was important because athletes psychologically need support during their rehabilitation. This study interviewed four participants who were injured within the past 2 years. Their injuries kept them away from participating in sports for a minimum of one month. The participants were interviewed and their responses were transcribed by the researcher. A thematic analysis was conducted on their responses and six themes emanated from the transcripts: optimism, defeat, encouragement/support, ambivalence, cognition and career. The results suggest that injured athletes experience a multidimensional recovery period and that a program should be in place to help athletes psychologically during their rehabilitation.