Gabrielle Cadotte, Jeffrey G. Caron

Female athletes remain underrepresented in sport-related concussion (SRC) research, despite reporting more symptoms and longer recoveries than males. Most studies have focused on contact and collision sports (Cadotte et al., in press), leaving artistic sports largely overlooked, despite evidence suggesting they also risk suffering SRC. This mixed method program of research examined the experiences and burden of SRCs among female artistic sport athletes. Study 1 was a meta-synthesis of athletes’ lived experiences with SRCs, and we found there were few studies that focused on artistic sport athletes. Those that did failed to distinguish their experiences from contact and collision sports athletes, which limits our understanding of how SRCs are influenced by sports that emphasize aesthetics and perfectionism. Study 2 used a constructivist grounded theory to explore the experiences of 29 female artistic sport athletes with SRCs. We developed a theory consisting of six interrelated concepts that explain how underlying processes, such as body-image pressures and expectations to display grace through pain, uniquely influenced participants SRC experiences. Study 3 was a cross-sectional study of 376 female artistic sport athletes comparing SRC rates across four artistic sports. Among the findings, we determined that nearly one-third of athletes who sustained an SRC during the 2023-2024 season had never received SRC education. Together, this program of research advances our understanding of SRCs within artistic sports. and highlights the need for targeted SRC education and prevention interventions to improve female artistic sport athletes safety and well-being.