The Lived Experience of Retired College Athletes with a History of 1 or More Concussions

CONTEXT: Concussions remain misunderstood, underreported, and undiagnosed. While most concussion symptoms resolve within 2 weeks, some patients experience persistent symptoms which adversely affect physical, emotional, social, and/or cognitive functioning. Minimal evidence delineating the effect of concussions on recently retired college athletes currently exists. OBJECTIVE: To examine the lived experience of retired collegiate athletes with a history of 1 or more concussions to discern individual concussion histories, knowledge and perceptions of concussions, and post-concussion quality of life. DESIGN: Qualitative. SETTING: Personal life after retirement from competitive athletics. PATIENTS or OTHER PARTICIPANTS: Former Division I athletes (n=14) 1-5 years post-athletics retirement with a history of 1 or more concussions. DATA COLLECTION and ANALYSIS: Fourteen semi-structured telephone interviews (8 males and 6 females) were audio-taped. Interviews were transcribed and inductively analyzed by 3 athletic trainers with 34 combined years of professional experience. Themes were negotiated through consensual review. Participant checks were completed to ensure trustworthiness of results. RESULTS: Participants sustained their first concussion during adolescence and often experienced difficulties transitioning back into the post-concussion academi