{"id":{"repo_id":"gsu","oai_identifier":"oai:digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu:etd-1081"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/gsu/oai:digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu:etd-1081","repository":{"repo_id":"gsu","name":"Georgia Southern University","base_url":"https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Understanding the Career-Ending Injury: A Phenomenological Analysis","abstract":"Injury is an unavoidable risk and many times a reality in the careers of competitive athletes. While the majority of these injuries will entail some form of rehabilitation followed by a return to play, severe injuries can ultimately end ones athletic career. For example, Kleiber, et al. (1987) discovered that the sole predictor of life satisfaction following an exit from sport was whether one had sustained a career-ending injury. Thus, the purpose of this research project was to qualitatively examine the experience of a career-ending injury through an existential phenomenological perspective. Because phenomenology aims to study how people describe their experiences, it is believed that this design can provide new insight into the athletic injury experience (Shelly, 1999). Data was transcribed and analyzed, and surfacing themes were identified in an attempt to describe the experience. Identified themes consisted of a) emotional response, b) changes, c) coping, and d) current state. These findings suggest that the experience of a career-ending injury may not yet be fully understood, however, support for prior injury research was also found.","abstract_html":"Injury is an unavoidable risk and many times a reality in the careers of competitive athletes. While the majority of these injuries will entail some form of rehabilitation followed by a return to play, severe injuries can ultimately end ones athletic career. For example, Kleiber, et al. (1987) discovered that the sole predictor of life satisfaction following an exit from sport was whether one had sustained a career-ending injury. Thus, the purpose of this research project was to qualitatively examine the experience of a career-ending injury through an existential phenomenological perspective. Because phenomenology aims to study how people describe their experiences, it is believed that this design can provide new insight into the athletic injury experience (Shelly, 1999). Data was transcribed and analyzed, and surfacing themes were identified in an attempt to describe the experience. Identified themes consisted of a) emotional response, b) changes, c) coping, and d) current state. These findings suggest that the experience of a career-ending injury may not yet be fully understood, however, support for prior injury research was also found.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Rapp, Christina M."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Kinesiology (M.S.)","degree_level":"Thesis (open access)","degree_discipline":"Department of Health and Kinesiology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Tony Lachowetz","Jon Metzler","Sarah Ritchie"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2007,"date_issued":"2007-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2007-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:26:17Z","subjects":["ETD","Sport psychology","Athletic injury","Career-ending injury","Existential phenomenology","Phenomenology","Qualitative inquiry","Sports injuries"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/81","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Tony Lachowetz","Jon Metzler","Sarah Ritchie"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Rapp, Christina M."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2013-10-17T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Department of Health and Kinesiology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis (open access)"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Kinesiology (M.S.)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["ETD","Sport psychology","Athletic injury","Career-ending injury","Existential phenomenology","Phenomenology","Qualitative inquiry","Sports injuries"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/81"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Injury is an unavoidable risk and many times a reality in the careers of competitive athletes. While the majority of these injuries will entail some form of rehabilitation followed by a return to play, severe injuries can ultimately end ones athletic career. For example, Kleiber, et al. (1987) discovered that the sole predictor of life satisfaction following an exit from sport was whether one had sustained a career-ending injury. Thus, the purpose of this research project was to qualitatively examine the experience of a career-ending injury through an existential phenomenological perspective. Because phenomenology aims to study how people describe their experiences, it is believed that this design can provide new insight into the athletic injury experience (Shelly, 1999). Data was transcribed and analyzed, and surfacing themes were identified in an attempt to describe the experience. Identified themes consisted of a) emotional response, b) changes, c) coping, and d) current state. These findings suggest that the experience of a career-ending injury may not yet be fully understood, however, support for prior injury research was also found."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Understanding the Career-Ending Injury: A Phenomenological Analysis"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Tony Lachowetz","Jon Metzler","Sarah Ritchie"],"dc:creator":["Rapp, Christina M."],"dc:date.available":["2013-10-17T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Injury is an unavoidable risk and many times a reality in the careers of competitive athletes. While the majority of these injuries will entail some form of rehabilitation followed by a return to play, severe injuries can ultimately end ones athletic career. For example, Kleiber, et al. (1987) discovered that the sole predictor of life satisfaction following an exit from sport was whether one had sustained a career-ending injury. Thus, the purpose of this research project was to qualitatively examine the experience of a career-ending injury through an existential phenomenological perspective. Because phenomenology aims to study how people describe their experiences, it is believed that this design can provide new insight into the athletic injury experience (Shelly, 1999). Data was transcribed and analyzed, and surfacing themes were identified in an attempt to describe the experience. Identified themes consisted of a) emotional response, b) changes, c) coping, and d) current state. These findings suggest that the experience of a career-ending injury may not yet be fully understood, however, support for prior injury research was also found."],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/81"],"dc:subject":["ETD","Sport psychology","Athletic injury","Career-ending injury","Existential phenomenology","Phenomenology","Qualitative inquiry","Sports injuries"],"dc:title":["Understanding the Career-Ending Injury: A Phenomenological Analysis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of Health and Kinesiology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis (open access)"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Kinesiology (M.S.)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:26:17Z"}