Skip to content
Sports
Link copied to clipboard

Negative talk can hurt your return from injury

Returning from a serious sport injury is physically demanding. There is the initial pain, the grueling rehab, and gradually getting back to speed. A physical injury is typically visible in the form of a swelling, and bruising, whereas the psychological injury is invisible which is why this process is given minimal attention or flat out ignored.

Returning from a serious sport injury is physically demanding. There is the initial pain, the grueling rehab, and gradually getting back to speed. A physical injury is typically visible in the form of a swelling, and bruising, whereas the psychological injury is invisible which is why this process is given minimal attention or flat out ignored. However, the manner in which an athlete psychologically responds to the injury greatly impacts his or her confidence, mood, desire to return to play, adherence to the rehab, and level of anxiety once cleared to play.

Psychologically returning from an injury

The athlete's identity will be shaken following an injury. That athletic identity is often the strongest identity. When it is taken away following an injury, many players will experience temporary depression, anger outbursts, and rumination about never getting back to the field, which is fueled by a lot of negative and catastrophic thinking. This negative thinking often interferes with physical rehab because the athlete tends to cut rehab sessions short, focuses on the pain, dwells on not being on the field, imagines missed opportunities, and is less likely to adhere to the physical therapy protocol. All of which prolongs the rehab process.

Then there is the athlete who sees an injury as an unlucky set back, something all athletes go through some time in their career, an opportunity to improve mental toughness, and a chance to prove doubters wrong. This is the athlete who sticks to the rehab protocol, pushes him/herself harder, and gets back to the field sooner with less anxiety.

Stay in the right mindset through all phases of recovery

Right after the injury, pay attention to feelings of depression and serious anger. They can last throughout the entire rehab instead of persisting for a short time period.

While rehabbing, stay properly motivated. It all starts with the decisions you make…when to go to physical therapy or carry out rehab exercises, whether you listen to the medical professionals. Then there are the decisions about how long a workout lasts and how hard you push yourself.

All of these motivational decisions depend on how the athlete is conceptualizing the injury. When clouded with a lot of negative thinking, the decisions tend to be poor. Jamie Moyer, former Phillie, talks about this in his book, "Just Tell Me I Can't." He would imagine the injured body part getting healthy and stronger. The problem is the most injured athletes focus on the opposite; the pain and the fact that the injured body part is weak and taking too long to heal.

When returning to the field, anxiety is the strongest emotion at this point. Fear of another injury and poor performance is common, but it often leads to poor play and drops in confidence. That's why athletes need to visualize their return to the field in a positive manner in the weeks leading up to the first practice and game. This will make the athlete more comfortable and less anxious when they start playing again.

Strategies you can use to keep the negative talk at bay

Goal setting: Collaboratively working with the medical professionals will increase the athlete's already dwindling sense of control, increase valuable communication with the medical staff, and increase adherence to the rehab protocol.

Short term goal setting helps the athlete maintain high levels of motivation because they will notice the small improvements. Long term goal setting provides the athlete with some comfort because they will know what to anticipate and it helps with motivation because it focuses attention on the main goal, which is to return to play.

Imagery: Visualize the rehab exercises prior to the session. Imagine the body part getting stronger/healthier. It is the same as visualization on the field. This exercise activates helpful neural pathways, helps with motivation, and offers a sense with familiarity with the exercises. In 2006, Handergard etal. conducted a study in which injured athletes listened to audio tapes of guided imagery that directed the athlete's thoughts to images of the injured body part healing, increasing range of motion, and getting stronger. These athletes reported increases in confidence when compared to injured athletes who did not participate in the guided imagery. In addition these athletes attributed 30-40% of their recovery to using mental imagery.(Handergard L., Joyner, A.,, Burke, L., Reitmann B. (2006). Relaxation and guided imagery in the sport rehabilitation context.Journal of Excellence, 10(7),  942-953.)

Dr. Ciaran Dalton is a licensed clinical psychologist who works with athletes of all ages and levels, helping them to improve performance and manage the high and lows of being an athlete. He played soccer at Millersville University and professionally in Ireland. He is currently an assistant coach at Swarthmore College for the men's soccer team. He is a guest contributor on Sports Doc.

Read more Sports Doc for Sports Medicine and Fitness.