the sociology of sports: on sport-related pain and injury

The Sociology of Sports: On Sport-Related Pain & Injury

William BridelAssistant Professor, Faculty of Kinesiology

October 6, 2016

Welcome

Webinar series by University of Calgary scholars Information presented is a summary of the

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Welcome

William Bridel Assistant Professor, Faculty of

Kinesiology• Socio-cultural aspects of sport &

physical activity; qualitative research PhD, Queen’s University; MA,

University of Ottawa; BA, York U Published in various sport and leisure

journals; edited collection Endurance Running: A Socio-cultural Examination

3-time Ironman participant & former competitive figure skater

Overview of the Presentation

From runner to researcher

Previous academic scholarship

My research on pain, injury, pleasure, health, and endurance

So what?

Tips and suggestions

With thanks to SSHRC

The Rock in My Shoe

Ironman USA, July 2007

Birth of the Project

Pain & Injury: Traditional Approach

• Medico-scientific focus• Identify; diagnose; treat• Goal: Find and eradicate source

• Treatment: pharmaceuticals; therapy; surgery(?); “alternative” approaches

• Prevention: Biomedical/scientific intervention (musculoskeletal development or improvement)

A Different Way of Thinking

Pain is not just blindly felt or unreflectively endured as a series of

biochemical impulses. It changes with its place in human history.

David Morris: The Culture of Pain (1991)

Sport Studies and Pain

Early scholarship produced by sport scholars such as John Bale, David Howe, Sigmund Loland William McTeer, Howard Nixon II, Elizabeth Pike, Martin Roderick, Don Sabo, Parissa Safai, Phil White, and Kevin Young

Beyond a medico-scientific approach, what do we know about pain and injury

in the context of sport?

Sport Studies and Pain: General

• Pain and injury are “just part of sport”• Normalization & socialization

• “No pain, no gain” philosophy

• Silence around pain and injury

• Impact of money

• Celebration of athletes who play through pain/injury

Sport Studies and Pain: Gender

• Boys and Men:• Masculinity/manliness connected to

ignoring/ tolerating/enduring/playing with/through pain

• Celebration of ability to overcome

• Silence

Image retrieved from walesonline.co.uk

Sport Studies and Pain: Gender

• Girls and women• Similar relationship to pain

and injury as boys and men

• Greater efforts to “protect” girls and women (rules & regulations)


What about non-elite athletes?


How do recreational sport participants or “weekend warriors”

think about/experience pain and injury?

Triathlon & Weekend Warriors

Doctoral dissertation focused on recreational or non-elite Ironman triathlon participants• Led to further research on the history of the Ironman

triathlon, as well as endurance running more generally

Interviews with 19 participants, media analysis, and personal reflections

Focus: constructions of pain, injury, pleasure, and health


Similar conceptualizations of pain and injury as elite athletes and reflecting media narratives

• “This is the Ironman, it’s normal!”

• Pain as something to be pushed through, something that demonstrates toughness (a valued trait)

• Negotiating between “positive” and “negative” pain

• Pain as a pleasurable, even desirable, state (“it makes me feel alive”)

• Accepting pain in pursuit of “better health”


I may be shortening the life of my knees. It’s really bone on bone when I run…. So I continue to exercise knowing that this may shorten some of my activities down the road but it’s almost more like I want to live for now and enjoy my activities now and hope that

10 or 15 years down the road when I do need a knee replacement that it’s advanced from what it is now.

(Gordon)

So What?

Sport-related injuries cost Canadian and US taxpayers billions of dollars every year and result in millions of missed work days

Loss of income for professional coaches

Decreased performance in the present, potentially long-term

Diminished interest in participation• If it hurts, why would you do it?!

So What?

Short- and long-term health consequences• Reliance on pain medication to mask and/or manage

• Mental and social health?

Continued “no pain, no gain” narrative & celebration of elite/pro athletes as exemplars of “healthiness”• How does this trickle down to children and youth?

Suggestions for your Fitness?

Set challenging but realistic goals and be willing to readjust if necessary

Listen to your body

Think about the difference between health and fitness in your own life

Think critically about narratives that celebrate the idea of pushing through pain

Coaches & parents: create a culture of openness around pain and injury

Upcoming webinars

The Race to Prevent Running Injuries, October 11, 12-1 p.m. MST

Inside the Mind of an Olympian, October 13, 12-1 p.m. MST

Knocking Out Concussions in Sports, October 20, 10-11 a.m. MST

Thank you

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