Practitioner perspectives of athlete recovery in paralympic sport

Athlete health and sport performance research for athletes with disabilities has increased substantially over the years as the level of competition and intensity in Paralympic sport has grown. However, relative to able-bodied sport, there remains some key areas of parasport research which are distinctly lacking. Athlete recovery, as a counterbalance to training stress and an important factor in preventing adverse health consequences such as illness and injury, is one of these understudied areas for elite para-athletes. Thus, the purpose of this descriptive qualitative study was to understand factors impacting recovery among Paralympic athletes, based on practitioner perspectives, with the aim of providing insightful guidance for applied practice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 North American sport practitioners who worked with elite para-athletes. Through thematic analysis, five main themes about optimizing athlete recovery in various populations of para-athletes were developed: a) prioritize the simple concepts, b) get to know the whole athlete, c) experience matters, d) musculoskeletal factors, and e) non-training load. Collectively, these results highlight how humanistic approaches to care, augmented by individual athlete expertise, extensive education, and a consideration of fundamental lifestyle factors is exceedingly important for para-athlete recovery. This study further describes that the approach to recovery among para-athletes, a diverse population, is uniquely complex from that of able-bodied sport and warrants scholarly attention.