Bursik Jan, Mayer Jochen, Thiel Ansgar, Kühnle Felix, John Jannika M
Institute of Sports Science, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Institute of Health Sciences, University of Education Schwäbisch Gmünd, Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany.
Front Sports Act Living. 2025 Apr 17;7:1553948. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2025.1553948. eCollection 2025.
Elite athletes frequently encounter physical health risks, such as an injury, illness or pain, which are accompanied by sociocultural norms, individual perceptions, and situational pressures. While research has explored risk management in sports, limited attention has been given to the subjective experiences of athletes managing these risks across their careers. This study addresses this gap by examining how elite handball players manage physical health risks, focusing on the role of risk perception, evaluation, and coping.
Using a constructivist lens, 11 handball players from the German national teams (5 females, 6 males) participated in biographical mapping interviews, providing insights into their career-long management of physical health risks.
Using reflexive thematic analysis, we generated four themes: (1) Externalizing risks and refraining from proactivity, (2) Relinquishing control under medical uncertainty, (3) Fluctuating prioritization of health or success, and (4) Calculated health-risk taking to achieve success. The findings illustrate that athletes' risk management strategies vary based on career stage, injury experiences, situational priorities, and social pressures. The insights contribute to a deeper understanding of the dynamics of physical health risk management in high-performance sports and their sociocultural underpinnings. The study highlights the need for interventions that foster proactive risk management, emphasize personal agency, and balance performance with long-term health.
精英运动员经常面临身体健康风险，如受伤、患病或疼痛，同时还伴随着社会文化规范、个人认知和情境压力。虽然已有研究探讨了体育领域的风险管理，但对于运动员在整个职业生涯中应对这些风险的主观体验关注较少。本研究通过考察精英手球运动员如何管理身体健康风险，聚焦于风险认知、评估和应对的作用，来填补这一空白。
采用建构主义视角，11名来自德国国家队的手球运动员（5名女性，6名男性）参与了传记式绘图访谈，以深入了解他们对身体健康风险的终身管理情况。
通过反思性主题分析，我们得出了四个主题：（1）将风险外化并避免主动行动，（2）在医疗不确定性下放弃控制权，（3）健康与成功的优先级波动，以及（4）为取得成功而进行有计划的健康风险承担。研究结果表明，运动员的风险管理策略因职业阶段、受伤经历、情境优先级和社会压力而异。这些见解有助于更深入地理解高水平体育中身体健康风险管理的动态过程及其社会文化基础。该研究强调了采取干预措施的必要性，这些措施应促进积极主动的风险管理，强调个人能动性，并在表现与长期健康之间取得平衡。
