Athletic Injuries Psychology Flashcards
What is injury vs discomfort?
Discomfort is a feeling linked with injury though discomfort does not always mean a decrease in mobility. Acute discomfort or pain is usually, but not always, an indication of injury. It is not always true that pain or discomfort immediately accompanies injury.
An individual may be stiff and uncomfortable after a fall or excessive exercise yet that person may not be wounded or forced to stop from activities. Authorities may advise avoiding physical activity for 1-3 days after exercise injury
What types of factors influence why athletes get injured with how well and how fast they recover?
Physical
Psychological
Personality
Stress
What are the physical factors in injury?
Muscle imbalances
High-speed collisions
Overtraining
Physical fatigue
Importance physical preparation and fitness and lowering environmental dangers (humidity and unequal sized collision)
What are the psychological factors of injury?
Emotional and behavioral issues 80% among athletes
Psychosocial factors (Social support, emotional, behavioral responses, stress, injury outlook) explained 18% of the time lost due to injury
What are the personality factors in injury?
1st psychological factors linked to injury
Personality traits such as optimism, self-esteem, resilience, and trait anxiety have been shown to play a role in athletic injuries
More complicated due to personality factors tend to moderate the stress injury connection. Higher trait anxiety and life stress leads to higher injury risk
What is the relationship between stress and injuries?
Athletes with greater life stress sustain more athletic injuries 85% of studies
What are the two theories explaining how stress can lead to injury?
Attentional Disruption- stress lowers peripheral attention, high anxiety leads to distraction and irrelevant thinking
Increased muscle tension-interferes with regular coordination and raises injury risk
What can coaches, and teachers do if an athlete is experiencing the two stress theories?
Stop training and begin stress management techniques
Keep an eye on the athlete’s behavior
What are some common psychological reactions to sports injuries?
Disaster
Relief- a break from tedious sessions
Fall back on it if not doing well
Acceptable excuse to quit
What is the grief process?
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance
What are the 3 phases of responses to injury?
Relevant Information Processing about Injury
Emotional Upheaval and Reactive Behavior
Positive Outlook and Coping
What happens during the relevant information processing emotional phase?
Information related to the pain to the injury knowledge of the magnitude of the injury and queries about how the injury occurred and the individual realizes the negative consequences of inconveniences
What happens during the emotional upheaval and reactive behavior emotional phase?
Emotional Agitation, fluctuating emotions, emotional depletion, isolation and separation, and feelings of shock, disbelief, denial or self pity
What happens during the positive outlook and coping emotional phase?
Athlete accepts and deals with the injury, develops constructive coping strategies, maintains positive attitude, is hopeful, and is relieved to see improvement
What are some other reactions from sports injuries?
Identity loss-huts self-concept
Fear and anxiety- if they will recover if they will be permanently replaced. Anxiety has more time to brew due to not training.
Lack of confidence- inability to prep and perform with their poor physical condition, low confidence can lead to low motivation and performance, increased injury risk if they overcompensate
Performance detriments- Due to low confidence and missing practice time. Athletes have difficulty adjusting expectations because they expect to be back in pre-injury shape
Group processes
It can have a positive or negative impact. Ex-football, can’t play for 2 months, interrupt flow of team communication and teamwork
What are some signs of poor adjustment?
Most diplay unpleasant feelings but could cope well
Feelings of rage and uncertainty
Obsession of question of when they can play agin
Denial
Coming back too soon and getting reinjured
Excessive accomplishment boasting
Dwelling on minor physical complaints
Guilt for letting the team down
Withdrawal from close relationships
Rapid mood swings
Statements implying that they will never recover
What improvements have been made in sports rehabilitation?
Active recovery
Less invasive surgeries
Weight training
New psychological techniques-specialists are taking a holistic approach to both the mind and the body
What factors play a role in the psychology of recovery?
Attitude
Outlook
Stress
Stress control
stress support
positive self-talk
healing imagery
Goal setting
Beliefs
What were the results of the study covering the psychology of recovery?
Athletes who had more set goals and positive self-talk recovered faster, along with healing imagery
Were compliant with their rehab treatment programs
Had a more optimistic attitude about their injury and life in general
Were motivated, committed, and determined
What are some implications for Injury Treatment and Recovery?
90% of trainers stated that the psychological aspect is critical
Psychological strategies strategies for boosting healing and recovery shpuld be implemented in injury therapy
Holistic approach that integrates physical treatments with psychological methods to aid in recovery is recommended
Understanding the process of psychological rehab and recovery is the first step in providing a holistic approach to healing
What are the three universal stages of injury and recovery?
Injury or illness phase
Rehab and recovery
Full activity and return phase
How can trainers help athletes during each phase?
Injury or Illness phase- help athlete deal with the emotional upheaval that accompanies injury onset
Rehab and recovery- Help athlete sustain motivation and adhere to rehab protocols
Full activity return phase- full recovery is not complete until the athlete can return to normal functioing in his or her sport
What happens emotionally during the injury or illness phase?
Stress source is the uncertainty that comes with the undiagnosed condition and the implications of any diagnosis, so the clinician should focus on helping the athlete understand the injury
What happens emotionally during the rehab and recovery phase?
The clinician should focus on assisting the athlete in maintaining motivation and adhering to rehab protocols. Goal setting and good attitude is critical.
Why is returning to normal more complex than originally thought?
The process takes a long time from 6 weeks to a year.
What are some injury risk factors?
High trait anxiety
High life stress
No psychological and coping skills
Low social support
High avoidance coping
Stress management can help an athlete lose less time due to injury and get fewer injuries
Coaches, licensed sports trainers, and fitness professionals should collaborate to identify athletes who are at risk of injury.
