A Pilot Study Investigating the Reasons for Playing Through Pain and Injury: Emerging Themes in Men’s and Women’s Collegiate Rugby

Abstract

Collegiate rugby is a competitive, collision sport, yet insufficient empirical evidence exists regarding participants’ perspectives on pain and injury. This study addressed male and female rugby players’ experiences with injury, and their views about playing through pain and injury. Eleven rugby players (five male; six female) competing in USA Rugby’s National College 7’s tournament participated in semistructured interviews, which were recorded, transcribed, and content-analyzed. Two major themes emerged: passion for sport and sport ethic. Passion for sport was composed of (a) love of the sport, (b) meaning of the sport, and (c) desire to be on the field. Sport ethic included: (a) helping the team, (b) game time sacrifice, (c) personality, (d) minimize, and (e) accepted behavior. The researchers explain these findings and propose strategies for increasing future athletes’ understanding of the dangers associated with playing through pain, and confronting the currently accepted culture of risk.

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