Skip to main content
Presentation
NCAA Division I Student Athletes’ Lived Experience of an In-Season Concussion
National Athletic Trainers Association National Conference (NATA) (2013)
  • Matthew S. Moreau, Georgia Southern University
  • Jody L. Langdon, Georgia Southern University
  • Daniel R. Czech, Georgia Southern University
  • Thomas A. Buckley, University of Delaware
Abstract
The clinical presentation and recovery from a sports-related concussion has been well-documented in the sports medicine literature; however, the post-injury experience of the injured individual has been largely unexplored. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine collegiate student-athletes’ lived experiences of an in-season concussion. Four NCAA Division I student-athletes who suffered an in-season concussion were interviewed utilizing an existential phenomenological approach to capture the lived experience of the injury. Five major themes developed from the participants’ experiences: 1) symptoms and emotional response to injury, 2) experiences of concussion testing, 3) fear of failing to meet teammate expectations, 4) support from friends and family, and 5) effect on school. These results provide documented evidence of multiple clinical concerns and anecdotal reports of student-athletes unwillingness to report concussion symptoms, potential dishonesty in reporting post-injury symptoms, negative effects on academic performance, challenges of concussion assessment, and the need to monitor student-athletes activity levels outside athletics. The results of this study can help sports medicine clinicians improve their understanding of the injured student-athlete’s perceptions following an in-season concussion.
Keywords
  • Concussion,
  • individual experience,
  • recovery
Publication Date
June, 2013
Location
Las Vegas, NV
Citation Information
Matthew S. Moreau, Jody L. Langdon, Daniel R. Czech and Thomas A. Buckley. "NCAA Division I Student Athletes’ Lived Experience of an In-Season Concussion" National Athletic Trainers Association National Conference (NATA) (2013)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jody_langdon/98/