Psychological Effects of Sport Re-Injury When playing sports or engaging in some sort of physical activity, the possibility of injury is always there. Injuries can occur at the most unexpected times and arise with physical as well as mental challenges. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the topic of how sport re-injury can influence an athlete’s attitude and motivation toward rehabilitation and returning to their sport. There are many psychological factors that play a role in how well an athlete can return to competition also. Certain personality traits like neuroticism, pessimistic explanatory style, or low dispositional optimism can play a big role in how mentally recovered an athlete can become from an injury (Pargman, 55-57).
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First of all, there muscles are obviously going to get weaker because there will be a period of time where they can’t use them. This does not only affect the way the athlete looks physically or feels physically, but also affects their thought process of what they think other people think about them. Some athletes may think that if they are physically less capable than their teammate or other athletes then they are inferior to them. This can have a big psychological effect on the recovery of some athletes. This can cause some athletes to either not want to return to sport because of fear that they wont be as good as they were or that every one else is still getting better as they are not getting anywhere currently. There is also always the fear of re-injury. The fear of re-injury, also known as kinesiophobia, often produces feelings of anxiety, nervousness, and depression. Some common signs that an athlete is experiencing kinesiophobia are hesitation, giving less than maximal effort, being wary of injury-provoking situations, and wearing braces on the previously injured body part (Heil, 11). Several researchers have discovered similar results in studies that have surveyed injured athletes suggesting that those who show lower levels of participation after surgery are actually more likely to experience concerns of re-injury (Mancini, 2). If an athlete participates less in activities after surgery then their physicality is just going to remain lower like it was after their injury. Building back strength and getting your body back into the physical state that it was pre-injury can help to reduce the fear of
First of all, there muscles are obviously going to get weaker because there will be a period of time where they can’t use them. This does not only affect the way the athlete looks physically or feels physically, but also affects their thought process of what they think other people think about them. Some athletes may think that if they are physically less capable than their teammate or other athletes then they are inferior to them. This can have a big psychological effect on the recovery of some athletes. This can cause some athletes to either not want to return to sport because of fear that they wont be as good as they were or that every one else is still getting better as they are not getting anywhere currently. There is also always the fear of re-injury. The fear of re-injury, also known as kinesiophobia, often produces feelings of anxiety, nervousness, and depression. Some common signs that an athlete is experiencing kinesiophobia are hesitation, giving less than maximal effort, being wary of injury-provoking situations, and wearing braces on the previously injured body part (Heil, 11). Several researchers have discovered similar results in studies that have surveyed injured athletes suggesting that those who show lower levels of participation after surgery are actually more likely to experience concerns of re-injury (Mancini, 2). If an athlete participates less in activities after surgery then their physicality is just going to remain lower like it was after their injury. Building back strength and getting your body back into the physical state that it was pre-injury can help to reduce the fear of