Literature indicates that injured athletes face both physical and psychological distress after they have been injured. In this study, a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) was utilised as an intervention for use during the period of recovery with injured athletes and, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study using MBSR as an intervention for this purpose.Objective: The aim of this research was to investigate the role of MBSR practise in reducing the perception of pain and decreasing anxiety/stress, as well as increasing pain tolerance and mindfulness. An additional aim was to increase positive mood and decrease negative mood in injured athletes.Methods: The participants comprised of twenty athletes (male = 14; female = 6; age range = 21–36 years) who had severe injuries, preventing their participation in sport for more than 3 months. Prior to their injury, the participants had trained regularly with their University teams and participated in official university championships. Both groups followed their normal physiotherapy treatment, but in addition, the intervention group practised mindfulness meditation for 8 weeks (one 90-min session/week). A Cold Pressor Test (CPT) was used to assess pain tolerance. In contrast, the perception of pain was measured using a Visual Analogue Scale. Other measurements used were the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS), and Profile of Mood States (POMS).Results: Our results demonstrated an increase in pain tolerance for the intervention group and an increase in mindful awareness for injured athletes. Moreover, our findings observed a promising change in positive mood for both groups. Regarding the Stress/Anxiety scores, our findings showed a notable decrease across sessions; however, no significant changes were observed in other main and interaction effects in both groups.Conclusion: Injured athletes can benefit from using mindfulness as part of the sport rehabilitation process to increase their pain tolerance and awareness. Further research is required to assess whether increasing pain tolerance could help in the therapeutic process.
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Background: Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) has been extensively applied as a clinical intervention by researchers’ who have made on-the-spot decisions research as part of their practice. This research was provided via a knowledge transfer of 8 weeks of MBSR based on the original MBSR version. The main objective of this study was to offer a qualitative explorative insight into the perceived experience of participating in a MBSR program for injured athletes. Procedure: A Semi Structured Interview was conducted with each injured athlete who participated in this study. A Thematic Analysis was applied to explore the themes which emerged from injured athletes’ experiences after 8 weeks of participation in a MBSR program.Results: Five themes emerged from injured athletes’ attitudes towards MBSR: 1) Reconnecting with the body, 2) Reconnecting with the mind, 3) Passivity of MBSR as opposed to the athletic praxis, 4) Group versus self-guided MBSR, 5) Acceptance of pain. These different themes are presented and discussed below. Conclusion: This particular qualitative exploratory investigation was based on injured athletes’ experiences in this study; MBSR can benefit them during the sport rehabilitation process. As such, the findings will promote scientific understanding about the effectiveness of MBSR as a clinical intervention. It should also be noted that, more investigation is required to find out about the role of mindfulness meditation in terms of therapeutic aspects with injured athletes.
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