Sports Injuries Matt Morris

Recap – What did we cover last lesson? Rehabilitation – Physical vs Psychological The Stepladder approach

Rehabilitation Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 Phase 5 Medical management with the focus placed on pain relief, swelling reduction and protected mobilisation Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 Phase 5 Focus on restoring range of motion, non-weight bearing exercises Flexibility and restoration of strength. Initially starts with isometric exercises, then isotonic with no load then onto proprioceptive exercises Retain sport specific movement patterns and improve co-ordination and agility Return to sport specific training

Create a basic Rehab Programme Case Study – Matt Morris 27th of December, Cold and Windy Tuesday at Coronation Gardens, Rhyl Gone to block a shot with a dangling foot, and opposition player has kicked the ball and followed through on the ankle, injured player felt ligaments ‘slightly pull’ and immediately could not put any weight on the ankle. Provide a basic rehab programme…

Psychological Rehabilitation Alongside the injured players physical rehabilitation programme, there should run a psychological rehabilitation programme to deal with the feelings and emotions of the individual during the altering stages and phases of recovery to full fitness. Frequently athletes react to injuries with a wide range of emotions, including denial, anger and even depression. An injury often seems unfair to anyone who who has been physically active and otherwise healthy. Although these feelings are real, it is important to move beyond the negative and find more strategies to cope with this setback.

In many cases, dealing positively with an injury will make for a more focused, flexible and resilient athlete/player. The following are some suggestions that can help form a psychological coping strategy alongside the physical rehabilitation of an injury. What psychological coping strategies can you think of as a group?

Psychological Coping Strategies Learn about the injury Responsibility for the injury Monitor attitude Using support Set goals Training to stay fit

Video Links The Importance of Psychological Rehabilitation

Learn about the injury The individual should learn about the injury as much as possible about the cause, treatment and prevention of their injury. Not fully understanding an injury can cause fear or anxiety At the start of the psychological rehabilitation process, diagnosis is key. If the individual knows and understands the answers to some of following questions, the player is more likely to relax and not worry as much.

Questions they might think? What is the diagnosis (what type of injury is it?) How long will recovery take? What type of treatment is available? What is the purpose of the treatment? What should be expected during rehab? Can alternative exercise help? What are the warning signs that rehab is not progressing?

Responsibility for the injury This does not mean that the individual should blame themselves or anyone else for the injury they have sustained. What it means is that they can accept that they have an injury and they can be in control of their own recovery. By taking on responsibility for the recovery process, individuals tend to find a greater sense of control and some go through the process quickly, rather than extending their recovery period by dwelling and having negative outlook on their injury.

Monitor attitude Monitoring the physical progress of the individual is vital, it is also important that the psychological aspects are considered and recorded. If an individual has accepted their injury and is positive at the start of rehab, it does not mean they will stay like this over the period of time. Particularly if the recovery does not go as planned, it can be very easy for an individual to become disillusioned.

Using Support A common response after an injury is to feel isolated and to withdraw from being around teammates, coaches and friends. It is important to maintain contact with others during recovery from an injury. What effect can the support of your teammates have in your recovery process? How can you still stay part of the team when you are injured? Gym, Eat, Coach, Analyse…

Set goals All athletes arguably have targets and goals. This should not stop if a player become injured. Planning and setting goals can have a very positive impact on the rehab progress. Why? Rather than viewing the injury as a crisis, it can be seen as another training challenge. With the goal now being focused on recovery not performance. Increase motivation, mood, confidence… What else? Goals should be SMART and short, medium and long term. Most athletes have a tendency to try and speed up their recovery b doing too much too soon, therefore it is imortant an athlete accepts the injury, and takes professional advice and knows their limits. Nick Blackwell vs Eubank Jnr / Nick Blackwell - Recent Injury

Training to stay fit Depending on the injury sustained it might still be possible to continue training to some extent and maintain CV conditioning or strength. This is vitally important to how quickly someone can go back to playing after the injury. If their fitness has dropped whilst injured, this prolongs the time out until they can reach maximum fitness and get back to playing. The physio at the club will devise an alternative fitness programme for you to follow whilst injured to maintain base levels of fitness.

Summary With the right knowledge, support and patience, an injury can be overcome without it being a totally negative experience. By taking things slowly, setting realistic goals and maintaining a positive, focused approach, most athletes can overcome minor injuries quickly and major injuries in time.