Pain Anxiety and Sports Injury Rehabilitation Belief Among Filipino National Athletes
Jade Ibhar V. Cuambot, Marc Eric S. Reyes, PhD, & Karen Katrina V. Trinidad, PhD
Athletes gain physical and psychological improvements from engaging in sports. Nonetheless, they are susceptible to sport injuries that may result in both physical and mental difficulties. Pain anxiety, a prevalent psychological reaction in injured athletes, may affect their perceptions of rehabilitation, hence altering their recovery trajectory. This study investigates the relationship between pain anxiety and perceptions regarding sport injury rehabilitation among Filipino national athletes using a cross-sectional predictive design. A sample of 146 athletes who underwent conservative rehabilitation without surgical intervention completed the Pain Anxiety Symptoms Scale and the Sports Injury Rehabilitation Beliefs Survey. Results demonstrated a significant positive association between pain anxiety and rehabilitation beliefs with pain anxiety strongly predicting beliefs regarding sport injury rehabilitation at about 15.2% of the variance. Our findings were contrary to the notion of an inverse association wherein elevated pain anxiety enhances athletes' rehabilitation beliefs as described in the obsessive-compulsive model. As such, the present study enhances the literature by emphasizing the psychological aspects of injury recovery in Filipino sportsmen, providing insights for customizing therapies to tackle the emotional difficulties encountered during rehabilitation.