Abstract
In addition to the physical trauma athletic injuries can cause, many injured athletes also experience significant social and psychological effects of the injury as they move through rehabilitation. For many high performance athletes, an athletic therapist serves as the first point of contact with the sports medicine team and frequently becomes a major source of support for the injured athlete. However, for varsity athletes (VAs) at many small universities, the first contact is usually with a student athletic therapist (SAT) imbedded with the team. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine how relational perceptions that may exist in the SAT-VA relationship may relate to the use of psychological skills in injury coping and rehabilitation. METHODS: Two SATs and three VAs participated in individual semi-structured interviews. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis, guided by the questions was used to examine how the SAT-VA relationship was viewed by both groups and how it influenced the use of psychological skills in the rehabilitation process. RESULTS: The relationship between SATs and VAs was characterized as a supportive, open, peer-level relationship. This peer-level relationship facilitated a co-operative approach to goal setting regarding return to play. Both the nature of the relationship and goal setting were viewed as beneficial for adherence to injury rehabilitation and were valued by both the SATs and the VAs. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the importance of the relationship between SATs and athletes and may be used to inform best practice.Acknowledgments: Dr. Jim MacLeod for providing the opportunity for this study. This study was supported by funding through the Webster Undergraduate Research Award.