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This study was designed to identify specific stress sources in elite skiers who suffered season-ending injuries and compare stress source factor differences between unsuccessful and successful postinjury performers. Retrospective qualitative interviews were conducted with 21 U.S. alpine and freestyle ski team members who suffered season-ending injuries. Results were content analyzed and revealed that the 182 stress source raw data themes coalesced into eight higher order dimensions including: psychological, social, physical, medical/rehab, financial, career, missed nonski opportunities, and other. The successful versus unsuccessful skier comparisons revealed that a greater percentage of unsuccessful skiers reported a lack of attention/empathy and negative relationship social dimension concerns, as well as poor performance and inactivity physical dimension concerns. Successful skiers reported more isolation concerns. Findings are discussed relative to how athletic injuries result in not only physical stressors, but a broad range of social and psychological stressors.

Season-ending injuries, particularly those to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), continue to occur at a high rate in many sports. Although multiple factors are thought to contribute to this injury rate, no study has looked at possible psychological influences. Therefore, the present hypothesis suggests that there exists an emotional trauma that affects athletes after seeing someone in their own sport sustain a serious injury. This traumatic response could result in a change in performance tactics that could result in injury to oneself (“injury contagion”). Students numbering 459 (N= 459; 277 males and 182 females) from four ski academies were studied. Results from psychological testing showed an increase in the use of fear words and phrases after injury to a teammate. As a result, it is recommended that coaches and other personnel maintain a heightened awareness of teammates’ emotions after a team member sustains a significant injury.