Sport Injury and College Athlete Health across the Lifespan

Abstract

What is the price of sports participation? The recently released Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Advisory Committee Report (United States Department of Health & Human Services [USDHHS], 2008) refers to sport injury as one of the prices, or “adverse events,” associated with regular physical activity such as competitive sport participation. Evidence in the colloquium paper presented by Zernicke, Antle, McLean, Palmieri-Smith, Miller, and Wojtys (2009)—entitled Play at Your Own Risk: Sport and the Injury Epidemic—demonstrates the magnitude and extent of this sport injury price, and provides a comprehensive and multifaceted look at both the nature of the problem and cutting edge, research-based solutions. As a reactor to their paper, my frames of reference include those of a (a) scholar in sport and exercise psychology with specific expertise in the psychology of sport injury, (b) former intercollegiate athlete who sustained many sport injuries herself, and, (c) former intercollegiate coach who dealt on the front lines with numerous athletes incurring and recovering from sport injuries. Is excellence in sport compatible with good health? Within the specific context of intercollegiate sport injury, my answer to this question relates to two salient themes that emerged for me in reaction to Zernicke et al.’s (2009) paper: first, that one must consider multiple dimensions of athlete health to fully grasp the compatibility of excellence and health, and second, that one must consider the full lifespan of intercollegiate athletes when answering the question. First, with respect to multiple dimensions, some of the key dimensions of athlete health affected by sport injury include physical (e.g., general health and functioning, orthopedic health, sport performance), social (e.g., ability to interact with other individuals), cognitive (e.g., ability to process information and act properly), emotional (e.g., ability to cope, adjust, and adapt), spiritual (e.g., belief in some force or dynamic other than humans), philosophical (e.g., the belief system that governs engagement), and economic (e.g., financial livelihood and support for activities). Furthermore, in addition to sport injury affecting multiple dimensions of the injured athlete’s own health, there is the health of the broader system to consider. Injury affects more than the injured; it often also holds healthrelated consequences for the network of family, friends, teammates, coaching