WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE AND BELIEVE, IT CAN ACHIEVE

What is sport psychology?

ØStudy of human behavior in sports settings or sports injuries due to influences of:

• The athlete themselves
• The sporting environment
• The social environment

ØStudy of how performance effects the mind and how mind effects performance

ØStudy of psychological aspects of sports injuries, its prevention and rehabilitation

Aim of sports psychologists

-To provide psychological assistance to:

• Enhance performance
• Overcome psychological stress of competitions
• Prevent sports injuries
• Overcome pressure of sports injuries
• Improve adherence to rehabilitation protocols and return to play

Psychological aspects of sports injuries.

• Psychological factors that may increase athlete’s risk of developing an injury:

–History of stressors

–Personality

–Coping resource

• Psychological reactions to sports injuries and their impact

–Injury relevant information processing

–Emotional upheaval & reactive behavior

–Positive outlook & coping

–Identity loss

–Fear and anxiety

–Lack of confidence

–Performance decrements

Stress-Injury Model

 

Sports Psychologist Interventions

Psychological responses encountered by Physiotherapists when working with injured athletes

• From Hemmings & Povey, (2002).

Psychological responses	Mean	SD
Stress/anxiety	3.67	0.78
Exercise addiction	3.54	0.87
Depression	2.77	0.94
Anger	2.74	0.94
Problems with treatment compliance	2.70	0.94
Problems with attention/concentration	2.25	0.80

1=never encounter;  5= very often encounter

Characteristics of athletes who cope less successfully with sports injury

• From Hemmings & Povey, (2002).

 

Characteristic	Frequency (%)
Non-compliance with rehabilitation program	49
Impatience	29
Poor motivation	22
Lack of understanding of injury	19
Depression	19
Unrealistic goals	17
Pessimism	14
Too eager to return to sport	12
Anxiety	11
Anger	8

Interaction with Physiotherapist

• Sports Psychologists’ interventions are important during rehabilitation to;

–Enhance self motivation

–Encourage positive self thoughts

–Reduce stress/anxiety

–Increase concentration skills

–Teach muscular relaxation techniques

–Reduce depression

–Teach the use of mental imagery

–Enhance self confidence

–Teach emotional control strategies

–Improve social support

Conclusion

*  Sports Physiotherapist+ Sports Psychologists *

ØTo  create;— variety in rehabilitation program—design short & long term goals—set realistic goals—increase compliance with rehabilitation/treatment program—return to play.

Reference