Psychology of Injury

 

by Rebecca Lee - 06.02.09

For elite athletes, suffering an injury can be a traumatic experience involving months of rehabilitation, missing major events or even an end to their sporting career.

English Institute of Sport (EIS) Sports Psychologists Mark Bawden and Anna Waters presented at the EIS National Conference last week, looking at how the psychological impact of injury is often as challenging as the physical aspect to recover from.

“Major injuries can be extremely traumatic for some athletes” explained Waters, who’s PhD studied the role of confidence in athletes’ rehabilitation. “Our research found that psychological factors such as confidence, can actually impact on physical recovery. Where these factors were higher early on in the rehab process, physical recovery was quicker than those with lower levels. Athletes with higher confidence tend to have a quicker return to full fitness both physically and mentally. 

“Athletes will pass through a series of stages when suffering an injury. At the onset, the disruption of normal functioning can prove a challenge, with athletes daily routines turned upside down and often having a large proportion of training time left vacant” she added.
 
Also speaking to delegates during the session were heptathlete Jessica Ennis and her Coach Toni Minichiello. Having faced her fears last year, suffering three stress fractures during competition, Ennis missed the Beijing Games and faced a tough journey back to fitness. Now back in training, Ennis and her Coach were able to share their perspectives on injury.

“When I realised how serious the injury was I was in shock and I knew there wasn’t going to be any way I could compete at the Games” said Ennis. “I was really up and down at first and thought ‘why me’ but once I got things into perspective and knew what I needed to do to rehabilitate, it helped me to focus and progress” she added.

Having worked closely with Ennis from a young age, Coach Minichiello knew how to support her rehab process.

“I know how Jess operates and she likes to plan her routine so it was important to create a programme to help match the time she puts into training so there was little time to dwell on the injury” said Minichiello. “Keeping a journal helped, with input from support staff with dates on what rehabilitation to do by when. This was useful to measure against and gave us both a focus” he added.

Having the right support structure around athletes during a period of injury can also prove an important factor in rehabilitation according to Ennis.

“It was important to have a support network and I had my family, friends and boyfriend as well as my coach and support staff at the EIS. This was really important for my motivation as some days were harder than others.”

The value of having an interdisciplinary sports science and medical team surrounding athletes allows every aspect of their recovery during injury being coordinated and communicated to ensure athletes recover as effectively and efficiently as possible. Rehabilitation work is often far more intense, painful and gradual than normal training and often central to recovery strategies is the ability of athletes to associate it with their training programmes.

“Athletes are used to aiming for targets during their daily routines and pushing their bodies to improve their performance” said EIS Sports Psychologist Mark Bawden. “Having the mindset that rehabilitation is part of their training and associating it to achieving targets allows athletes to focus more efficiently on their recovery.

Photography © Getty Images