Abstract
Despite the developmental benefits of sport in adolescence, injury is common and can have a profound impact beyond just physical symptoms.
This qualitative study aims to explore the lived experiences of adolescent athletes with sports- related injury in Ireland.
This was a qualitative study using one-on-one semi-structured interviews and a phenomenology method. Twenty-one secondary school students from across the Island of Ireland aged 15–18 years who had experienced a sports-related injury within the last 2 years agreed to take part. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the collected data.
Seventeen adolescents (eight female, mean age 16.2 (range 15–18) years) from five different sports were included for analysis. Predominantly negative experiences were described with four overarching themes identified through thematic analysis: playing through pain and injury, the social influence on playing through pain and injury behaviour, the psychological impact of sports injury and player confidence and its role in returning to sport.
In conclusion, a culture of playing through pain and even injury is widely accepted in adolescent sports and is influenced by the social circles that surround these young athletes. The impact of sports injury goes beyond just the physical, with these athletes experiencing devastation and a loss of identity due to their absence from sport. Sports coaches can help reduce this negative impact by keeping injured players involved in the team/sport as much as possible. Conversely, sports injury also provided opportunity for personal growth in some cases, improving mental resilience and self-reliance.
This qualitative study aims to explore the lived experiences of adolescent athletes with sports- related injury in Ireland.
This was a qualitative study using one-on-one semi-structured interviews and a phenomenology method. Twenty-one secondary school students from across the Island of Ireland aged 15–18 years who had experienced a sports-related injury within the last 2 years agreed to take part. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the collected data.
Seventeen adolescents (eight female, mean age 16.2 (range 15–18) years) from five different sports were included for analysis. Predominantly negative experiences were described with four overarching themes identified through thematic analysis: playing through pain and injury, the social influence on playing through pain and injury behaviour, the psychological impact of sports injury and player confidence and its role in returning to sport.
In conclusion, a culture of playing through pain and even injury is widely accepted in adolescent sports and is influenced by the social circles that surround these young athletes. The impact of sports injury goes beyond just the physical, with these athletes experiencing devastation and a loss of identity due to their absence from sport. Sports coaches can help reduce this negative impact by keeping injured players involved in the team/sport as much as possible. Conversely, sports injury also provided opportunity for personal growth in some cases, improving mental resilience and self-reliance.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e002776 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-11 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Early online date | 29 Oct 2025 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published (in print/issue) - 30 Nov 2025 |
Bibliographical note
Copyright © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ Group.Data Access Statement
Data are available on reasonable request. Thepseudonymised transcripts from this study can be made available on reasonable
request by contacting the corresponding author
Funding
Funding was provided for this research paper as part of the RID Injury Project by the Higher Education Authority of Ireland.
Keywords
- adolescent
- sport
- injury
