PSYCHOSOCIAL INTERVENTION FOR SPORT INJURIES AND ILLNESSES

PSYCHOLOGICAL RESPONSE TO INJURY Dont all deal with injury the same Could be disastrous Opportunity to show courage Provide escape from the team losing, discourage or domineering

PSYCHOLOGICAL RESPONSE TO INJURY We have different length of rehab Short term (less than 4 weeks) Long term (more than 4 weeks) Chronic (recurring) Terminating (career ending) Despite the length of injury the athlete still has to deal with their emotions during this time

PSYCHOLOGICAL RESPONSE TO INJURY Reactive Phases Reaction to injury Reaction to rehabilitation Reaction to return to competition or career termination Not all athletes have these reactions and they dont fall in that sequence

PSYCHOLOGICAL RESPONSE TO INJURY 5 Stages of Psychological Reaction Denial Anger Bargaining Depression Acceptance Other factors that can influence reactions to injury Coping skills, past history of injury, social support and personality traits

ATHLETE NEED FOR SOCIAL SUPPORT They need support from teammates Helps prevent feelings of negative self-worth or loss of identity Athletic Trainer Supportive AT is critical to successful rehabilitation

ATS ROLE IN PROVIDING SOCIAL SUPPORT 1 st to interact with athlete We care for them as a person not just as part of the team Must have respect for AT as a person before they can trust the AT Good communication between both parties Take an interest in that individual

ATS ROLE IN PROVIDING SOCIAL SUPPORT Be a good listener Find out what the problem is Be aware of body Language Project a caring image Explain the injury to the patient Manage the stress of injury Help the athlete return to competition

PREDICTORS OF INJURY Stress and the Risk of Injury Stress: the positive and negative forces that can disrupt the bodys equilibrium. Its not something an athlete can do to his or her body, but t is something that the brain tells athlete is happening Positive stress: eustress… stress that is beneficial Negative: distress… describes detrimental responses or negative stressors

PREDICTORS OF INJURY Physical Response to Stress Fear Anxiety Can be acute or chronic Acute: threat is immediate and response is instantaneous Chronic: persists over some period of time

PREDICTORS OF INJURY Emotional Response to Stress Worries school, work, family Coach is usually the first person to notice this type of stress

OVERTRAINING Overtraining imbalance between a physical load placed on an athlete and his or her coping capacity Can lead to Staleness and Burnout

STALENESS Reason for staleness training to hard and long not enough rest time emotional problems daily worries, fears and anxieties Anxiety: a feeling of uncertainty or apprehension more common mental and emotional stress produces athlete can not describe the problem Heart palpitations, shortness of breath, sweaty palms, constricted throat, headaches

STALENESS Parents push to hard athlete may fail purposely in the sport just to get rid of the stress Coach acts like a drill sergeant negative reinforcements Losing season can cause staleness as well

STALENESS Symptoms Deterioration in standard performance chronic fatigue apathy loss of appetite indigestion weight loss inability to sleep or rest higher blood pressure/ increase pulse rate If they show signs of this, they increase their potential for both acute and overuse injuries and infections

BURNOUT Syndrome related to physical and emotional exhaustion leads to: negative self-concept, negative attitudes, loss of concern for the feelings of others Detrimental to athletes general health Symptoms headaches GI disturbances sleeplessness chronic fatigue increase emotional exhaustion cynicism depressed mood