Injury and burnout in Australian athletes

The relationship between injury and burnout in a sample of 264 local to international Australian athletes (124 men and 140 women) was studied. Injury can be a stressful experience for athletes; coupled with the demands of rehabilitation, it could increase feelings of burnout. Experiencing more than one injury could have a cumulative effect on feelings of burnout. Alternatively, for some athletes the break from training or competing caused by an injury could alleviate burnout symptoms. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire and a modified version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Independent sample t tests indicated that currently injured athletes (n = 150) had significantly lower mean Burnout scores than currently uninjured athletes (n = 113). Small, but statistically significant, positive correlations were found between number of injuries and Burnout scores. Possible explanations are that injury provides a temporary break from intense sporting involvement and, thus, lower scores on Burnout, but multiple injuries might have a cumulative effect on burnout.