The transtheoretical model: an exploratory look at its applicability to injury rehabilitation.

CONTEXT The transtheoretical model has been widely used in the investigation of how people adapt to new behaviors; however, the literature appears to be lacking documentation of any assessment/s administered to injured athletes to determine their readiness for rehabilitation, which depending on the severity of the injury, could possibly represent a behavior change for that individual. OBJECTIVE To validate the application of the transtheoretical model to injury rehabilitation and assess the impact of stages of change on athletes' adherence and compliance rates. DESIGN Descriptive correlational. SETTING Large Mid Atlantic Division I institution. PARTICIPANTS Seventy injured athletes. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Readiness was assessed using the Transtheoretical Model. Adherence was assessed using the percentage of rehabilitation attendance and compliance was assessed using the Sport Injury Rehabilitation Scale. RESULTS Participants who were advanced in their stages of change generally reported an increase in self efficacy, utilization of pros versus cons, and the use of behavioral processes instead of experiential processes of change. No significant relationships were found between stages of change and athletes' adherence and compliance. CONCLUSION Although no statistical significance was found between stages of change and adherence and compliance the results did validate the application of the transtheoretical model to injury rehabilitation.