Helping the Injured Athlete Psychologically

Flashcards covering psychological aspects of athlete injury, mental health, stress, overtraining, burnout, and rehabilitation strategies based on lecture notes.

Mental Health Difficulties Prevalence

1 in 5 people experience mental health difficulties annually, with highest rates in young adults.

Lifetime Mental Health Conditions Onset

75% of lifetime mental health conditions begin by age 24, overlapping with peak athletic years.

Life Stressors for Athletes

Stressors such as school, family, friends, and relationships that can impact mental health.

Sport-Specific Stressors

Stressors such as performance demands, competitive failure, injury, and retirement from sport.

Psychological Stress of Competition

Mental pressure and demands experienced by athletes due to increasing intensity of competition.

Athletic Identity

The degree to which one defines themselves through their role as an athlete.

Athlete's Psychological Response to Injury

How an athlete's mental state and emotional reactions can either delay or enhance physical recovery from an injury.

Reactive Phases to the Injury Process

Distinct stages of an athlete's psychological adaptation to injury: reaction to injury, reaction to rehabilitation, and reaction to return to play or termination of career.

Short Term Injury

An injury with a rehabilitation period of less than 4 weeks.

Long Term Injury

An injury with a rehabilitation period greater than 4 weeks.

Chronic Injury

A recurring injury.

Terminating Injury

A career-ending injury.

Integrated Model of Psychological Response to Sport Injury

A model focusing on how an athlete's appraisals (thoughts) about their injury affect their emotions and behaviors, which in turn impact rehabilitation and recovery.

Stress-Injury Model

A model explaining how stress increases the risk of injury, where high stress combined with poor coping skills and few resources makes an athlete more vulnerable.

Factors Influencing Psychological Response to Injury

Categories of factors including injury-related (severity, history), psychological (coping, mood), sociodemographic (gender, SES), and physical (genetics, strength).

Trait Anxiety

A predisposition to experience anxiety, which increases the risk of injury due to muscle tension, narrowed attention, and distractibility.

Burnout/Overtraining Syndrome

The result of imbalances between an athlete's physical load and their coping capacity, leading to physiological and psychological factors.

Overtraining

A physiological condition resulting from excessive training loads without adequate recovery, causing persistent fatigue and decreased performance.

Staleness

A physiological state that often follows overtraining, marked by a plateau or decline in performance and motivation, and often a precursor to burnout.

Burnout

A psychophysiological syndrome involving emotional exhaustion, reduced accomplishment, and sport devaluation, primarily psychological and stemming from chronic stress.

Goal Setting in Rehabilitation

The process of establishing personal and internally satisfying goals to increase motivation, compliance, and track outcomes during rehabilitation.

Active Listening

A critical communication skill for sports medicine professionals, involving paying attention to an athlete's fears, anger, depression, or anxiety beyond their verbal complaints.

Imagery/Visualization (Stress Management)

A stress management technique where athletes create mental images of successful performance or recovery.

Realization/Strategies (Stress Management)

A category of stress management techniques involving understanding and applying coping strategies.

Cognitive Restructuring (Stress Management)

A stress management technique focused on modifying an athlete's negative thought patterns and perceptions about their injury.

Thought Stoppage (Stress Management)

A stress management technique used to interrupt and eliminate negative or unproductive thoughts.

Playing with Pain (Return to Competition)

Continuing to compete despite an injury, which can worsen the severe injury and constantly reduces the chances of a healthy life of activity.

Rehabilitation of Athletic Injuries (Holistic View)

A process that encompasses not only physical recovery but also the emotional and psychological aspects of the individual, influenced by environment, support, and culture.