Injury fear in mountaineering accidents: a study of Turkish mountaineers’ experiences

Abstract Aim Mountaineering, which involves high levels of risk and challenge, is an extreme sports activity with a deep history, requiring superior physical fitness, mental strength and technical knowledge. The high level of risk inherent in mountaineering also brings with it injuries, which negati...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Erdoğan Ekinci, Fatih Mehmet Parlar, Özge Ercan, Nedim Tekin, Begüm Yaşar Sönmez, Ümit Doğan Üstün
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-08-01
Series:BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13102-025-01292-2
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849234048527892480
author Erdoğan Ekinci
Fatih Mehmet Parlar
Özge Ercan
Nedim Tekin
Begüm Yaşar Sönmez
Ümit Doğan Üstün
author_facet Erdoğan Ekinci
Fatih Mehmet Parlar
Özge Ercan
Nedim Tekin
Begüm Yaşar Sönmez
Ümit Doğan Üstün
author_sort Erdoğan Ekinci
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Aim Mountaineering, which involves high levels of risk and challenge, is an extreme sports activity with a deep history, requiring superior physical fitness, mental strength and technical knowledge. The high level of risk inherent in mountaineering also brings with it injuries, which negatively affect athletes’ performance and lead to traumatic experiences that cause anxiety. This research aims to examine in depth the injury concerns of licensed mountaineers. Method The present research conducted as a qualitative study with the phenomenological approach and the data were obtained through in-depth interviews conducted face-to-face. In the interviews conducted with 12 professional mountaineers selected with the criterion sampling method, an interview form consisting of semi-structured questions developed by the research team based on Lazarus’ Cognitive-Motivational-Relational Theory was used. The obtained data were analyzed with the content analysis technique. Results The research results reveal that the injury concerns of mountaineers are related to the themes of risk management, psychological resilience, mental strengthening and strategic thinking in the cognitive dimension; amotivation, passion and taking precautions in the motivational dimension; and resistance, environmental support, environmental pressure, developing self-awareness and persuasion in the relational dimension. Conclusion These results show that the performance of athletes in the Cognitive-Motivational-Relational dimensions is affected by injury fear. Therefore, it shows that injury fear is a critical factor that must be taken into consideration and managed in order to ensure sustainability in mountaineering.
format Article
id doaj-art-da47a9b89a294b72b34f3ce409b848a5
institution Kabale University
issn 2052-1847
language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher BMC
record_format Article
series BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation
spelling doaj-art-da47a9b89a294b72b34f3ce409b848a52025-08-20T04:03:17ZengBMCBMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation2052-18472025-08-0117111710.1186/s13102-025-01292-2Injury fear in mountaineering accidents: a study of Turkish mountaineers’ experiencesErdoğan Ekinci0Fatih Mehmet Parlar1Özge Ercan2Nedim Tekin3Begüm Yaşar Sönmez4Ümit Doğan Üstün5Artvin Coruh University, Arhavi Vocational SchoolHasan Doğan Sports Sciences Faculty, Karabük UniversitySports Sciences Faculty, Istanbul University-CerrahpaşaHasan Doğan Sports Sciences Faculty, Karabük UniversityMinistry of Youth and SportsSports Sciences Faculty, Recep Tayyip Erdogan UniversityAbstract Aim Mountaineering, which involves high levels of risk and challenge, is an extreme sports activity with a deep history, requiring superior physical fitness, mental strength and technical knowledge. The high level of risk inherent in mountaineering also brings with it injuries, which negatively affect athletes’ performance and lead to traumatic experiences that cause anxiety. This research aims to examine in depth the injury concerns of licensed mountaineers. Method The present research conducted as a qualitative study with the phenomenological approach and the data were obtained through in-depth interviews conducted face-to-face. In the interviews conducted with 12 professional mountaineers selected with the criterion sampling method, an interview form consisting of semi-structured questions developed by the research team based on Lazarus’ Cognitive-Motivational-Relational Theory was used. The obtained data were analyzed with the content analysis technique. Results The research results reveal that the injury concerns of mountaineers are related to the themes of risk management, psychological resilience, mental strengthening and strategic thinking in the cognitive dimension; amotivation, passion and taking precautions in the motivational dimension; and resistance, environmental support, environmental pressure, developing self-awareness and persuasion in the relational dimension. Conclusion These results show that the performance of athletes in the Cognitive-Motivational-Relational dimensions is affected by injury fear. Therefore, it shows that injury fear is a critical factor that must be taken into consideration and managed in order to ensure sustainability in mountaineering.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13102-025-01292-2MountaineeringInjuryAnxietyOutdoor sportsRiskAccident
spellingShingle Erdoğan Ekinci
Fatih Mehmet Parlar
Özge Ercan
Nedim Tekin
Begüm Yaşar Sönmez
Ümit Doğan Üstün
Injury fear in mountaineering accidents: a study of Turkish mountaineers’ experiences
BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation
Mountaineering
Injury
Anxiety
Outdoor sports
Risk
Accident
title Injury fear in mountaineering accidents: a study of Turkish mountaineers’ experiences
title_full Injury fear in mountaineering accidents: a study of Turkish mountaineers’ experiences
title_fullStr Injury fear in mountaineering accidents: a study of Turkish mountaineers’ experiences
title_full_unstemmed Injury fear in mountaineering accidents: a study of Turkish mountaineers’ experiences
title_short Injury fear in mountaineering accidents: a study of Turkish mountaineers’ experiences
title_sort injury fear in mountaineering accidents a study of turkish mountaineers experiences
topic Mountaineering
Injury
Anxiety
Outdoor sports
Risk
Accident
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s13102-025-01292-2
work_keys_str_mv AT erdoganekinci injuryfearinmountaineeringaccidentsastudyofturkishmountaineersexperiences
AT fatihmehmetparlar injuryfearinmountaineeringaccidentsastudyofturkishmountaineersexperiences
AT ozgeercan injuryfearinmountaineeringaccidentsastudyofturkishmountaineersexperiences
AT nedimtekin injuryfearinmountaineeringaccidentsastudyofturkishmountaineersexperiences
AT begumyasarsonmez injuryfearinmountaineeringaccidentsastudyofturkishmountaineersexperiences
AT umitdoganustun injuryfearinmountaineeringaccidentsastudyofturkishmountaineersexperiences