Pain Acceptance Among Retired National Football League Athletes: Implications for Clinical Intervention

in Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology

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Zachary L. Mannes Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA

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Erin G. Ferguson Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

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Nicole Ennis Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine, Center for Translational Behavioral Science, Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee, FL, USA

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Deborah S. Hasin Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

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Linda B. Cottler Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health and Health Professions & College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1123/jcsp.2020-0061
Keywords:
behavioral health; NFL; opioid use; pain intensity
First Published Online:
25 Sep 2021
In Print:
Volume 17: Issue 1
Page Range:
27–40
Restricted access

Over 80% of National Football League (NFL) retirees experience daily pain. Pain acceptance is an important psychological construct implicated in the intensity of chronic pain, though these findings have not been extended to NFL retirees. Therefore, the current study examined the association between pain acceptance and pain intensity among former NFL athletes. NFL retirees (N = 90) recruited from 2018 to 2019 completed questionnaires that assessed pain, substance use, and NFL career information. Multiple linear regression examined the association between current pain acceptance and pain intensity while adjusting for other risk factors of pain. NFL retirees reported average scores of 33.31 (SD = 10.00), and 2.18 (SD = 2.40) on measures of pain acceptance and pain intensity, respectively. After covariate adjustment, greater pain acceptance (β = −0.538, p < .001) was associated with lower pain intensity. These findings can further inform the behavioral and mental health care of retired NFL athletes.

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