Psychological Rehabilitation from Sports Injuries

Crossman, Jane

doi:10.2165/00007256-199723050-00005

“…Although the participants' experiences of lessons learned have been supported in the literature, so has their tendency to report doubts about their ability to return to play. [20][21][22] Additionally, previous research [17][18][19][20][21] provides more support for the emotional response of fear of reinjury when compared with the emotion of excitement, as noted by some athletes in the current sample. The resulting behavioral response, cautiousness in their return to play, appears to be directly related to athletes' fear of reinjury.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 52%

Psychosocial Responses During Different Phases of Sport-Injury Rehabilitation: A Qualitative Study

Clement

¹

,

Arvinen-Barrow

²

,

Fetty

³

2015

Journal of Athletic Training

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Context: Athletic trainers have traditionally conceptualized rehabilitation programs in terms of 3 distinct physiologic phases; however, these phases appear to neglect athletes' psychosocial responses to their injuries. Objective: To document injured athletes' psychosocial responses during the different phases of injury rehabilitation. Design: Qualitative study. Setting: National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II university in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Patients or Other Participants: A total of 8 previously injured athletes (4 men and 4 women) participated in the study. Data Collection and Analysis: We collected participant data by using semistructured interviews, transcribed verbatim and analyzed by directed content analysis. Established themes were triangulated to determine trustworthiness. Results: Initially, athletes' cognitive appraisals were predominately negative in nature, leading to negative emotions. These appraisals changed after diagnosis and when moving to the reaction-to-rehabilitation phase and the reaction-to-sport phase. During the reaction-to-rehabilitation phase, athletes reported mixed cognitive appraisals and identified frustration as the main emotional response. When returning to sport, athletes reflected on the lessons learned, yet they expressed some doubts related to their ability to return to play. These cognitive appraisals served as a precursor to the resulting emotional responses of nervousness and reinjury anxiety, as well as excitement. Throughout the various phases of rehabilitation, athletes reported seeking out social support: initially from significant others and then from their athletic trainers during the reaction-to-rehabilitation phase. Conclusions: The results appear to support the use of the integrated model of psychological response to sport injury and the rehabilitation process and the 3 phases of rehabilitation as a framework for understanding how physical and psychosocial factors may interact during sport-injury rehabilitation. Understanding this interaction may help athletic trainers provide better care to their injured athletes.

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“…8 In both studies, the key strategies used with athletes were creating variety in rehabilitation exercises and short-term goal setting. In addition, SMPs are reported 2,[18][19][20][21][22] to have central roles in dealing with injured athletes' typical psychosocial responses to injuries and in influencing their overall recovery. Ideally, an athlete will have access to a range of allied health professionals during rehabilitation, including a sport psychologist 23 ; however, very rarely do athletes outside of professional sport have access to such services, 8,17,24 thereby highlighting the need for the SMP to develop competencies in the psychosocial aspects of injury rehabilitation.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of Sport Medicine Professionals in Addressing Psychosocial Aspects of Sport-Injury Rehabilitation: Professional Athletes' Views

Arvinen-Barrow

¹

,

Massey

²

,

Hemmings

³

2014

Journal of Athletic Training

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Context: Research from the sport medicine professional's (SMP's) perspective indicates that SMPs are often required to address psychosocial aspects of injuries during treatment. However, only a few authors have investigated injured athletes' experiences with these concerns. Objective: To explore injured professional athletes' views on the role of SMPs in the psychosocial aspects of sport-injury rehabilitation. Design Qualitative study. Setting: Professional association football and rugby union clubs. Patients or Other Participants: Ten professional, male football (n = 4; 40%) and rugby union (n = 6; 60%) players (age = 22.4 ± 3.4 years). Data Collection and Analysis We collected data using a semistructured interview guide, and the data were then transcribed and analyzed following the interpretative phenomenological analysis guidelines. We peer reviewed and triangulated the established emergent themes to establish trustworthiness. Results: Athletes in our study viewed injuries as “part and parcel” of their sports. Despite normalizing sport injuries, athletes reported frequent feelings of frustration and self-doubt throughout the rehabilitation process. However, athletes' perceived the role of SMPs in injury rehabilitation as addressing physical concerns; any intervention aimed at psychosocial outcomes (eg, motivation, confidence) needed to be subtle and indirect. Conclusions: The SMPs working with injured athletes need to understand the psychosocial principles that underpin athletes' sport-injury processes and the effect psychosocial reactions can have on athletes. Moreover, SMPs must understand the self-regulatory processes that may take place throughout injury rehabilitation and be able to apply psychological principles in natural and subtle ways to aid athletes' self-regulatory abilities.

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“…5,11,12 In addition, the role of sports medicine professionals (a situational factor) in influencing injured athletes' cognitive appraisal of the injury, emotional and behavioral responses, the rehabilitation process, and the physical and psychological recovery outcomes is also important. [13][14][15][16][17][18] Therefore, it has been suggested that sports medicine professionals, such as athletic trainers (ATs), play an integral part in the sport-injury rehabilitation process and that they are best suited to inform, educate, and assist injured athletes with the psychological and physical process of injury. 4,19,20 Indeed, many sports medicine professionals believe they must address psychological aspects of injuries in order for their work to be effective.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychosocial Aspects of Athletic Injuries as Perceived by Athletic Trainers

Clement

¹

,

Granquist

²

,

Arvinen-Barrow

³

2013

Journal of Athletic Training

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Context: Despite the Psychosocial Strategies and Referral content area, athletic trainers (ATs) generally lack confidence in their ability to use this information. Objective: The current study's primary purpose was to determine (a) perceived psychological responses and coping behaviors athletes may present to ATs, (b) psychosocial strategies ATs currently use with their athletes, (c) psychosocial strategies ATs deem important to learn more about, and (d) ATs' current practices in referring athletes to counseling or sport psychology services. Design: Mixed-methods study. Setting: Online survey containing both quantitative and qualitative items. Patients or Other Participants: A total of 215 ATs (86 male, 129 female), representing a response rate of 22.50%. Main Outcome Measure(s): The Athletic Training and Sport Psychology Questionnaire. Results: Stress/anxiety (4.24 ± 0.82), anger (3.70 ± 0.96), and treatment adherence problems (3.62 ± 0.94) were rated as the primary psychological responses athletes may present upon injury. Adherence and having a positive attitude were identified as key determinants in defining athletes' successful coping with their injuries. The top 3 selected psychosocial strategies were keeping the athlete involved with the team (4.57 ± 0.73), using short-term goals (4.45 ± 0.67), and creating variety in rehabilitation exercises (4.32 ± 0.75). The top 3 rated psychosocial strategies ATs deem important to learn more about were understanding motivation (4.29 ± 0.89), using effective communication (4.24 ± 0.91), and setting realistic goals (4.22 ± 0.97). Of the sample, only 59 (27.44%) ATs reported referring an athlete for counseling services, and 37 (84.09%) of those who had access to a sport psychologist (n = 44) reported referring for sport psychology services. Conclusions: These results not only highlight ATs' current use of psychosocial strategies but also their desires to increase their current knowledge and understanding of these strategies while caring for injured athletes.

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Psychological Rehabilitation from Sports Injuries

Cited by 88 publications

References 10 publications

Psychosocial Responses During Different Phases of Sport-Injury Rehabilitation: A Qualitative Study

Psychosocial Responses During Different Phases of Sport-Injury Rehabilitation: A Qualitative Study

Role of Sport Medicine Professionals in Addressing Psychosocial Aspects of Sport-Injury Rehabilitation: Professional Athletes' Views

Psychosocial Aspects of Athletic Injuries as Perceived by Athletic Trainers

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