Integrating health and clinical psychology into sport injury research: A necessary theoretical and applied expansion. A comment on “Psychology of sport injury: Selected debates and contemporary issues” (Podlog and Ivarsson, this issue)

Abstract

Sport injuries are not merely disruptions to performance; they are health events that, like chronic diseases, involve behavioral risk factors and significant psychological consequences. Despite extensive research on the psychology of sport injury, dominant models have yet to fully integrate theoretical frameworks from health psychology and clinical psychology. In this commentary, we argue that reconceptualizing sport injuries as health issues comparable to conditions like cardiovascular diseases or diabetes allows us to leverage well-established behavioral and clinical models to enhance prevention, rehabilitation, and psychological care. First, socio-cognitive theories of health behavior provide robust frameworks for understanding and modifying behaviors that reduce injury risk and improve rehabilitation adherence. Second, transdiagnostic models of psychopathology offer a more precise understanding of the emotional responses to injury, accounting for the shared psychological mechanisms that underlie a broad range of symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and trauma-related distress. By positioning sport injuries within the broader domain of health psychology, researchers and practitioners can better explain, predict, and intervene in the behavioral and psychological dimensions of injury.