“I Was Able to Still Do My Job on the Field and Keep Playing”: An Investigation of Female and Male Athletes’ Experiences With (Not) Reporting Concussions

Abstract

This research applied muted group theory to investigate female and male athletes’ experiences with not reporting concussions sustained during athletic competition. Using snowball-sampling techniques, a total of 365 women and 247 men completed an online open-ended questionnaire about their reasons for not reporting a concussion. Results indicated that male athletes were more likely to continue to play through and not report a concussion than female athletes. Participants also indicated that they did not report concussions due to (a) perceived lack of resources, (b) perceived lack of severity, (c) conformance to sport cultural norms, which was comprised of two subthemes: adherence to the pain principle and team allegiance. The results suggest that efforts to address concussion management in sport need to focus on the communicative and structural elements that privilege hegemonic masculinity and playing through pain, as they contribute to muting athletes in advocating for their health.

“Support is What Really Helped Me Get Through”: Understanding Athletes’ Online Disclosures about Pursuit and Receipt of Social Support During Concussion Recovery

“…Although many sport-related concussions occur annually (Langlois et al, 2006), researchers have found that athletes are hesitant to report concussions due to concerns about being perceived as weak, not being a good teammate, not being believed, or due to pressure from coaches, teammates, fans, or parents (Cranmer & LaBelle, 2018;Kroshus et al, 2015a;Sanderson, et al, 2017;Weinberg et al, 2013). Coupling these self-perceptions with the physiological, emotional, social, and mental effects of concussions (Bloom, Horton, McCrory, & Johnston, 2004;McCrory et al, 2017), athletes may perceive concussions as a health stigma, or, "an individual's perception that her or his health condition represents a mark of discredit" (Wright & Rains, 2013, p. 310).…”

“…Accordingly, online forums provide unique spaces for athletes to share their concussion recovery experiences in ways that are personally meaningful (Varga & Paulus, 2014) and to convey information they may not disclose offline. These outcomes are particularly salient given the stigmas associated with sport cultural norms surrounding athletes and toughness (Sanderson et al, 2017). Thus, online forums enable athletes, through narratives, to share their experiences with social support as they describe living with their concussion injury.…”

“…These incident rates arguably have contributed to concussions and head injuries in sport being viewed as a public health issue in the United States (Baugh et al, 2014;Baugh & Shapiro, 2015). Although scholars have examined reasons that athletes do not report concussions (Cranmer & Labelle, 2018;Kroshus, Garnett, Hawrilenko, Baugh, & Calzo, 2015c;Sanderson, Weathers, Snedaker, & Gramlich, 2017), less attention has focused on athletes' lived experiences as they manage concussion recovery (Caron, Bloom, Johnston, & Sabiston, 2013;Cassilo & Sanderson, 2018;Covassin, Crutcher, Bleecker, Heiden, Dailey, & Yang, 2014), a process that often is characterized by social isolation and mental anguish (Baugh et al, 2014;Kroshus, Kubzansky, Goldman, & Austin, 2015a;Weinberg, Vernau, & Horn, 2013).…”

“…Concussion rehabilitation also can be taxing for athletes due to self-perceptions that they are disappointing their coaches and teammates by not playing (Anderson & White, 2017;Sanderson, et al, 2017). Additionally, concussion recovery also can include limiting exposure to light, loud noises, and TV/mobile devices (MacDonald, Patel, Young, & Stuart, 2018), restrictions that may exacerbate perceptions of social isolation.…”

“…As athletes often are reticent to report concussions (Kerr, Register-Mihalik, Kay, DeFreese, Marshall, & Guskiewicz, 2018;Sanderson et al, 2017), they also may be hesitant to talk about their concussion recovery in traditional settings. Nevertheless, understanding athletes' lived experiences with concussions is crucial for those working and living with athletes, including those who are responsible for sport governance and policy (Liston, McDowell, Malcolm, Scott-Bell, & Waddington, 2016;Cassilo & Sanderson, 2018).…”