Sport injury rehabilitation adherence: perspectives of recreational athletes

The purpose of this study was to investigate recreational participants’ experiences of adhering to a sport injury rehabilitation program. Six participants undertaking a rehabilitation program for a tendonitis‐related injury as a result of sport involvement took part in this study. Data were collected using semi‐structured interviews and were thematically analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (Smith & Osborn, 2003). Five themes emerging from the data set were motivation, confidence, coping, social support, and pain. Specifically, a lack of motivation and confidence were perceived to have a negative effect upon home‐based rehabilitation adherence while ineffective coping strategies, over support and pain, appeared to have an adverse influence on rehabilitation adherence in a clinic setting. The use of effective coping strategies and varied types of social support aided rehabilitation adherence. Applied implications and future research directions are discussed