Fysioterapeuters upplevelser och erfarenheter av skadehantering och återgång till spel i Damallsvenskan

Sammanfattning: Abstract Background: Soccer includes quick turns, jumps and decelerations, which entails an increased risk of injury. Women are exposed to more long-term injuries than men. Physiotherapists who work with injury management and return to play need to take account factors from a biopsychosocial perspective. Purpose: The aim of this study is to explore physiotherapist's experiences of working with injury management and returning to play in Damallsvenskan, after common injuries in soccer. Method: A descriptive qualitative study based on five semi-structured interviews was applied. The content of the interviews was analyzed with qualitative content analysis. Results: The results show that physiotherapist´s in Damallsvenskan experience that good communication between affected parties facilitates the work with injury management. The work includes considering risks, working with mental barriers and helping the player to be physically ready for recovery by treating the damaged tissue. Physiotherapists experience that different resources affect injury management. Conclusion: The physiotherapists describe how an important part of the work is to help the player to become physically ready for recovery by treating the tissue and working with mental barriers. Good communication facilitates cooperation within the team. The pressure to get players ready for a match in a short time includes considerations of risks, which is affected by work experience. Physiotherapists in Damallsvenskan experience that resources affect injury management. Furthermore, quantitative research should focus on whether an increased presence of physiotherapists in Damallsvenskan can reduce the risk of players injuring themselves again.