ABSTRACT
Introduction In contrast to other disciplines such as medicine, biomechanics, exercise physiology or psychology, sociological research on sports-related risk, pain and injury remains in its infancy. A partial explanation may be found in the fact that sociological attention to risk, pain and injury has consistently been subsumed under the umbrella classifi cation of ‘sports violence’ rather than viewed as an area of study unto itself. In Canada, for instance, initial sociological enquiry was pioneered in the 1980s and 1990s by Michael Smith (1983, 1987, 1991) who posed preliminary questions about the social, physical and legal dimensions of risk. While recognizing the signifi cance of injury research and laying the foundation for future work, Smith mainly approached injury as the ‘downside’ to aggressive sport and sport played aggressively, rather than as an autonomous fi eld of research per se.
