Background: Athletes regularly face physical and psychological adversities that test their resilience. Consequently, resilience may play a significant role in shaping athletes' performance and overall well-being. Therefore, resilience's influence on crucial outcomes within sports medicine, such as injury rates, recovery processes, and performance metrics, has sparked significant discussion and investigation. Purpose: To evaluate current literature on athletes' resilience and its effects on injury incidence, recovery, and athletic performance. Study Design: Systematic review, Level of evidence, 3. Methods: A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. This review utilized the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases for literature search. The search was performed in December 2023 and initially identified 1387 studies. Relevant studies were selected based on defined inclusion and exclusion criteria, with data extraction focused on study characteristics, patient demographics, and key outcomes related to resilience. Due to heterogeneity in study design and outcome measures, qualitative analysis was performed rather than formal statistical analysis. Results: A total of 13 studies were included, consisting of 9 cross-sectional studies and 4 cohort studies. A total of 4400 athletes were included in these studies. A qualitative synthesis of the findings highlights resilience's significant positive impact on recovery and performance. Across the studies, high resilience was associated with better psychological well-being during recovery, reduced severity and incidence of post-concussion symptoms, and improved athletic performance. However, the effect of resilience on injury incidence was inconclusive, with studies showing varied results across different sports. Conclusion: This systematic review supports resilience as a crucial element in athletes’ recovery and performance, suggesting that resilience training should be integral to rehabilitation and athlete development programs. Future research should focus on implementing resilience training in athletic settings to evaluate its effects on injury incidence, recovery, and performance metrics. The evidence supports the potential of such interventions to enhance athletes' overall well-being and sporting success.
Mastroianni et al. (2025) studied this question.