Athletic Injuries

Williams & Andersen, 1998 Injury Model

[Williams & Andersen 1998] certain ___ factors predispose individuals to injury, whereas others protect from injury

psychosocial

[Williams & Andersen 1998] central hypothesis of model: athletes with a history of (3 things) are more likely to appraise competition situations as stressful

• history of many stressors

• personality characteristics that intensify stress response

• few coping resources

[Williams & Andersen 1998] stress response is a bidirectional relationship between …

cognitive appraisals and physiological/attentional responses to demanding athletic situations

[Williams & Andersen 1998] when an athlete views a competitive situation as challenging/exciting ...

good stress → increase focus → lower risk of injury

[Williams & Andersen 1998] when athletes appraise competition as threatening …

anxiety → perceive inadequate resources to meet demands of situation → higher risk of injury

[Williams & Andersen 1998] What do cognitive appraisals and physiological/attentional responses do to each other?

constantly modify each other (e.g. relaxing the body relaxes the mind)

[Williams & Andersen 1998] 3 culprits in stress-injury relationship

1. muscle tension

2. narrow visual field

3. increased distractibility

[Williams & Andersen 1998] important moments in history of stressors

• major life changes

• daily hassles

• previous injury

[Williams & Andersen 1998] Which moment in history of stressors has most support from research?

• major life events

  • especially those experienced in the year prior to the competitive season

  • risk of injury is directly correlated to level of life stress

personality and coping resources

desirable personality attributes and coping resources may help athletes perceive fewer situations as stressful

competitive state anxiety →

more injuries

optimistic and hardy →

fewer injury problems

high hardiness →

problem and emotion-focused coping

low hardiness →

avoidance coping

low sensation seeking

avoid unfamiliarity, lower tolerance for arousal, stay away from risky activities

risk taking predicts …

time loss and severity of overuse injuries

positive state of mind →

fewer injuries

negative state of mind →

higher rate of injury and/or severity

significant increases in mood disturbance immediately prior (3 hours to 3 days) to injury →

risk of serious injuries

social support →

influences injury outcome directly and lessens negative effects of high life-event stress

most injuries occur in athletes who … (2)

• experience high stress negative life events

• lack social support and psychological coping skills

integrated sport injury model

emotional responses to injury

• disastrous

• opportunity to show courage

• relief from long season of poor performance

• worry about recovery and return to previous physical state

• underestimate severity of injury

• depression, confusion, mood disturbance

cognitive appraisal chart

[cognitive appraisals] athletic injury is conceptualized as a stressor to the athlete, who then appraises the stressor in accordance with ___ and ___ factors

personal, situational

[cognitive appraisals] injury response comes from how the athlete …

perceives the injury

[cognitive appraisals] What do cognitive appraisals lead to?

cognitive appraisal → emotional response → behavioral response

[cognitive appraisals] What do behavioral responses typically entail?

responses to injury rehab

[models to explain reaction to injury] grief models

injured athletes proceed thru a series of stages on the way to recovery

[injury reaction models] cognitive appraisal model

response to injury comes from how the athlete perceives the injury

[injury reaction models] integrated model of response to sport injury

injury reaction is determined by personality, social, and emotional factors

[injury reaction models] biopsychosocial model

reciprocal interaction of psychological factors with biological and social/contextual factors in the rehab process

What is often the main identity focus for atheltes?

athletic identity

the more narrowly focused an injured athlete’s sense of self is, the more ___ the athlete will be

threatened

athletes more involved in sport before injury may perceive … at end of rehab

lesser degree of recovery

strong athletic identity may also correspond with greater ___ during rehab

motivation

How can coaches and trainers help an athlete during injury?

they can push athletes to focus on other hobbies in life

What are some benefits following injury?

• personal growth

• psychologically based performance

• physical/technical development

• improved social networks

• increased knowledge of anatomy

• increased resilience

• growth

Who else might be a good fit to provide sport psych services?

athletic trainers