1. Athletic Injuries and Sports Psychology
Nicola Sperry, Matthew Gerrior, Kaitlin Fehr
HK 236

2. Contents Factors affecting Injury
Relationship between stress and injury
Predisposition to injury
Psychological reactions
Psychology of recovery
Coping skills

3. How Do Injuries In Exercise and Sport Happen?
Physical Factors
Muscle imbalance, high speed collisions, overtraining, physical fatigue
Psychological Factors
Personality factors, stress levels and attitudes

4. Personality Factors (Ford, Ekuland, & Gordon 2000; Smith et al., 2000)
Optimism, self-esteem, hardiness & trait anxiety in relation to injury
Inconsistency in research

5. Stress Levels
(Anderson & Williams, 1988; Johnson, 2007; Williams & Anderson, 1998, 2007)
Relationship between life stress and injury rates
Major life changes
Stress sources
Psychological reactions and social concerns- fear of reinjury
Stress management training

6. Relationship Between Stress and Injury
2 Major Theories
Attentional Disruption
Increased Muscle Tension

7. Attentional Disruption
Reducing Peripheral Attention
State Anxiety

8. Increased Muscle Tension
Interference with normal coordination
Fatigue, Muscle Inefficiency, Reduced Flexibility & Motor Coordination Problems

9. Model of Stress and Athletic Injury Anderson & Williams, 1988

10. Attitudes that Predispose Players to Injury
Rotella & Heyman, 1986
Coach's Attitudes
“Act Tough and Give 100%”
Failure to emphasize the need to recognize and accept injuries
Encouragement to play hurt or take risks
“If You're Injured, You're Worthless”
Winning more important than the athlete's well being

11. Injury Pain vs. Training Discomfort
Pushing through workouts
Ignoring Injury
“Train Hard and Smart”

12. Psychological Reactions
Five Stage Grief Response
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance

13. New Psychological Reaction Theory
Three General Responses
Injury-relevant information processing
Emotional upheaval and reactive behaviour
Positive outlook and coping

14. More Psychological Reactions
Identity loss
Fear and anxiety
Lack of confidence
Performance decrements

15. Adjustment to Injury
Coaches and trainers look for specific symptoms to evaluate whether the athlete should go to psychological counselling
Examples: anger, confusion, denial, mood swings

16. Psychology of Recovery
Fast healing vs. Slow healing athletes
Effects of relaxation techniques and imagery
Adherence to rehabilitation programs
Characteristics of successful recovery

17. Implications for Injury Treatment and Recovery
3 Stage Model constructed by Bianco, Malo and Orlick in 1999
1. Injury or Illness Phase
2. Rehabilitation and Recovery Phase
3. Return to Full Activity Phase

18. Injury or Illness Phase
Main focus is to help the athlete deal with the emotional upheaval that accompanies the onset of injury.

19. Rehabilitation and Recovery Phase
Main focus is to help the athlete sustain motivation and adherence to rehabilitation protocols

20. Return to Full Activity Phase
Main focus is to return the athlete to normal functioning within his or her sport.

21. Crosby’s Rehabilitation

22. Road to Recovery Quotes During Crosby’s Recovery:
“The symptoms are getting a lot better, but I wouldn't say [I'm] symptom free”
"The good thing is I have a pretty good handle on it [motion sickness]."
"It's good for me to be around the guys and hopefully support them and they can see that I'm getting closer and closer."

23. At Risk High trait anxiety High life stress
Low psychological and coping skills
Low social support
High avoidance coping

24. How to Help the Injured Athlete
Build rapport
Empathetic and realistic
Keep up momentum
Educate athlete
Informed about the injury and recovery process
Teach how to cope with setbacks
Foster social support
Don’t let this die out as the healing process continues

25. Specific Psychological Coping Skills
Goal setting
SMART
Long term and short term goals
Each component of rehabilitation
Highly motivated athletes
Positive self-talk
Help to counteract the lowered confidence
Turn negative thoughts into positive ones

26. Example of positive self-talk
Negative Thought
Positive Thought
I’ll never be able to perform as well as I did before this injury
This injury has allowed me to identify a number of weakness is my fitness. I will work on these areas of weakness, while rehabilitating the injury. This will allow me to return as a stronger player than I was before injury

27. Specific Psychological Coping Skills
Imagery/Visualization
Relax
Close their eyes and create a vivid and convincing image
Maintain a positive attitude
Have realistic expectations
Use all of their senses to make the image as realistic as possible

28. Specific Psychological Coping Skills
Pain Management Imagery
Imagine tight muscles getting massaged
Feel heat/ice on sore body part
Imagine swelling draining out of the body
Imagine pain flowing out of the injured body part

29. Specific Psychological Coping Skills
Healing Imagery
A healing image is one that symbolizes recovery
Broken bone: cement filling in a break in a bone
Torn muscle: muscle fibers braiding together