Design and participants

This was a mixed-methods study conducted between April 2014 and January 2015. Participants were prospectively followed online during a sporting season, and were interviewed face-to-face at one follow-up point of the study (figure 1). The participants of this study were from a Brazilian private multisport club. Each sport-discipline of this club has its own responsible trainer and medical staff.

Logic of the data collection during the study period by sport-discipline. The follow-up data were collected online, while interviews with athletes (n=15) and their respective team staff (n=5) were conducted face-to-face.

The head of the physiotherapy department of the club selected 3 sport-disciplines by convenience to participate in this study. National elite athletes from judo, swimming, and volleyball, and their respective staff, were verbally informed on the purpose and procedures of this study. Detailed information on the study and procedures was also provided digitally. All participants agreed to an electronic participation consent form approved by the ethics committee of the VU University Medical Center Amsterdam, the Netherlands.