Rehabilitation Engagement and Adherence Changes in Injured Athletes

Objective: The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between an athlete’s rehabilitation engagement and adherence, over time.

Method: 21 injured athletes participated in this research aged between 18 to 38 years of age. Data was collected over 8 weeks with regression analysis revealing relationships between rehabilitation adherence and rehabilitation engagement over time.

Results: The analysis suggested that injured athletes that are high in rehabilitation adherence at the beginning of their treatment become less adherent at a slower rate than injured athletes who are initially low in adherence. Athletes who are highly engaged with their rehabilitation display a slower reduction in engagement than athletes who initially have low levels of engagement. As an athlete becomes less adherent they will experience a drop in their engagement levels. The reduction in engagement accelerates as adherence decreases.

Conclusion: By helping to increase the understanding of the sports injury process and the implications that it can have on sports injury rehabilitation, it is hoped that this research will have positive effects on injured athletes’ rehabilitation processes.