Athlete Soreness Self-Reporting for Increased Sports Recovery

With 70-80% of athletes choosing to withhold soreness/injury-related information from sports staff (Jessiman-Perreault et al., 2016; Whatman et al., 2018), the need for more research in this sector of sports communication is apparent. This study aimed to take a step in closing that research gap by identifying barriers to soreness reporting and taking measures to try and work around those barriers in partnership with a Division I, southeastern, public university football team over the course of the 2024 season. The 2024 season’s data was then compared to data collected in the 2021-2023 seasons. Exploratory research into a Division I, southeastern, public University’s football team revealed that the athlete identity, warrior mentality, cognitive dissonance model, and health disclosure decision-making model were barriers to their players’ self-reporting soreness information. Soreness data collection was used to help training staff understand what is going on with their team members physically and help players understand what they need to focus on recovery-wise to be at their best potential. Using the exploratory research as a guide, this study looked to change existing soreness data collection strategies and implement a new soreness communication plan to increase soreness self- reporting and player-led recovery initiatives. Using individual interviews and observational data, results were collected on a weekly basis and compared with previous years. Results indicate that strategically designing communicative messages focused on increasing recovery modality use and normalizing soreness recovery practices led to an increase in soreness self-reporting by players and an increase in player-led recovery usage. Practical implications are forwarded.