Factors Associated with Adherence to Sport Injury Rehabilitation in College-Age Recreational Athletes

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to identify factors that contribute to adherent or nonadherent behavior during sport injury rehabilitation programs. Thirty-nine male and female college-age recreational athletes participated. The variables under examination were self-motivation/apathy, perceived exertion, social support, scheduling concerns, the clinical environment, and pain tolerance. Independent t tests (p < .05) were used to determine the difference between the adherer and nonadherer groups on each of the six variables. A discriminant function analysis (DFA) was employed to determine which of the six variables contributed most to the overall difference. Results of the t tests indicated that significant differences were seen for self-motivation, scheduling concerns, and pain tolerance. The DFA indicated that scheduling concerns contributed most to the overall group difference.

Using a Multidimensional Approach to Predict Motivation and Adherence to Rehabilitation in Older Adults

“…In another study, adherers to rehabilitation were less concerned with occasional pain compared to those who did not adhere and who reported stopping once they felt pain. 29 In contrast, Pizzari and colleagues found in their interviews that pain had only a fleeting influence upon adherence throughout various stages of the rehabilitation process. 31 Although there has been great variance in the amount of influence pain has on the rehabilitation process, all studies have reported that pain is a contributing factor.…”

“…Other authors have reported that adherers to exercise seemed to make time for their rehabilitation while nonadherers found rehabilitation an inconvenience. 29 Through discriminant analysis, the authors reported that scheduling concerns were the greatest contributor to the overall difference between adherers and nonadherers, specifically nonadherers thought that their sessions required too much time. While the aforementioned studies document "perceived lack of time" as a major barrier to rehabilitation, the implicit conclusion remains that patients who prioritize rehabilitation are more likely to make time to attend sessions, follow instructions, and complete home-based exercises.…”

“…22 The multitude of factors related to adherence behavior have commonly been categorized as either personal or environmental. Personal factors most commonly reported as affecting adherence rates include belief in efficacy of treatment, [23][24][25] selfmotivation, 23,[26][27][28][29][30][31] perceived social support, 23,27,32 pain tolerance, 27,29,32 emotional disturbance, 18,33 belief in ability to perform activities prescribed, 25 goal direction, 23 instrumental coping, 34 positive attitude, 30 perceived risks for future complications and long-term benefits, 25 success perceived to be related to controllable factors, 26 and perceived lack of time. 31 Environmental or situational factors most commonly reported as affecting adherence rates include clinical setting and scheduling, 27,31 communication, 28 therapists support and progression of exercises, 31 and rehabilitation professionals' expectancy of patient behavior.…”

Rehabilitation from sports injuries: from theory to practice

“…Athletes who were less self-motivated and placed less emphasis on task incentives were more likely to miss scheduled appointments and less likely to adhere to their rehabilitation programme. Fields et al (18) identified that self-motivation contributed to adherent or nonadherent behavior during sport injury rehabilitation programmes. Self-motivated injured athletes were less likely to be deterred by outside factors that may have prevented attending rehabilitation sessions.…”

“…Personal factors are stable, dispositional characteristics and those associated with adherence are self-motivation (24,14,18), pain tolerance (19,18), and task difficulty (16).…”