Professional Athletes' Perspectives on the Function of Sports Medicine Specialists in Treating Psychosocial Aspects of Sport-Injury Rehabilitation

Research from the perspective of sports medicine professionals (SMPs) indicates that these professionals are often required to address the psychosocial aspects of injuries during treatment. However, there is a paucity of literature investigating injured athletes’ experiences with these concerns.

Objective

To explore the perspectives of injured professional athletes regarding the role of SMPs in the psychosocial aspects of sport-injury rehabilitation.

Design

Qualitative study.

Setting

Professional association football and rugby union clubs in Uzbekistan.

Participants

Ten professional male athletes, comprising football (n=4; 40%) and rugby union (n=6; 60%) players, with a mean age of 22.4 ± 3.4 years.

Data Collection and Analysis

Data were collected using a semistructured interview guide. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed following the guidelines of interpretative phenomenological analysis. Emergent themes were peer-reviewed and triangulated to ensure trustworthiness.

Results

The athletes in our study perceived injuries as an intrinsic aspect of their sports. Despite this normalization, athletes frequently reported feelings of frustration and self-doubt throughout the rehabilitation process. They perceived the role of SMPs in injury rehabilitation as primarily addressing physical concerns; any interventions aimed at psychosocial outcomes (e.g., motivation, confidence) needed to be subtle and indirect.

Conclusions

SMPs working with injured athletes in Uzbekistan need to understand the psychosocial principles underlying the sport-injury processes and the impact of psychosocial reactions on athletes. Additionally, SMPs must comprehend the self-regulatory processes that occur during injury rehabilitation and be capable of applying psychological principles in natural and subtle ways to enhance athletes’ self-regulatory abilities.