As an athlete, a majority of time is spent playing, practicing or thinking about their prospective sport. When an injury occurs, it can have drastic effects on one’s emotional and cognitive state. Once an injury is corrected and rehabilitation beings, it is imperative for the athlete to recognize that they shouldn’t rush back into heavy training, but be cautious and take time to ensure full recovery. A volleyball player uses their legs constantly during a match and an injury to the knee will cause negative emotional behavior. Eight weeks before a scheduled return to the court is quite a bit of the season, and it can be hard for the athlete to come up with proper goal setting techniques in order to remain focused on proper rehab. Concentration during rehab is another area athletes may run into trouble with, and should be monitored to prevent wasted energy and time. As an athletic trainer, it is your responsibility to help make sure the rehabilitation period as smooth and positive as possible for the athlete.
It is important as an athletic trainer to help both physical as well as mental rehab to prevent negative self talk, facilitate goal setting techniques and help maintain concentration and focus. Self talk occurs whenever a person thinks, aloud or internally and creates assumptions and beliefs (Gill &Williams, 2008). When beliefs are made conscious, the affect it has on the mind is staggering. For an injured athlete, one should maintain positive self talk to increase chance of proper recovery. Persistent exercisers will use motivational self talk while their sedentary counterparts often use self-defeating talk (Gill & Williams, 2008). Telling yourself you can’t do something will increase the chance of cessation of the activity. Reinforce your desires with positive reassurance. Once positive self talk is established, goal setting techniques will be used to create proper timelines for rehab.
Setting and attaining short term goals will help achieve long range goals by using a building process, step by step (Fisher, Mullins & Frye, 1993). Long-term, broad range goals can set up for failure and decrease confidence and motivation. Short term goals are flexible, controllable and will develop subject confidence levels (Gill & Williams, 2008). Combining the two goal types will increase the chance of positive outcomes. Concentration is essential to maintain proper attention to detail. Concentration is a skill developed to develop control of attention. Both external and internal forms of concentration are needed to avoid distractions (Gill & Williams, 2008). Concentration on detail in rehabilitation will decrease the chance of injury re-emergence.
In order to help the collegiate volleyball player achieve the best rehab possible, it will be essential to first assess her current thoughts of the injury and rehab are. Once answers are heard, it will be possible to establish a group of mental and physical activities to help. Positive self talk building sessions will be used to first develop a positive attitude. Effective self talk includes thought stopping, countering negative attitudes and changing to positive ones is important (Gill & Williams, 2008). Hills in the road will occur during rehab, but it will remain successful if the athlete can look at these blockades with the “I think I can, or I know I can” attitude, after some work, the hill will be crested.
Once positive self talk skills are mastered, goal-setting strategies will be used to obtain step by step specific goals for rehab, as well as a few long term goals. It is important that athletes develop more difficult, specific goals as better performance is found. Setting and accomplishing short term goals that proceed to allow long term goal achievement is a real confidence builder (Fisher, Mullins & Frye, 2003). Having the athlete write down her goals to place somewhere she can see them will help. Once goals are set, the volleyball player should be told that readjustment of goals is completely normal, and she should never get discouraged with herself, especially with injury rehab. With re-assessment of goals, it can boost confidence to see that her rehabilitation is progressing faster than expected, or that a certain step needs more time, but will increase health. With goals set, one can focus their attention on the specific activities.
Concentration and attention to detail is extremely important with injury rehabilitation. Not paying attention to how a rehab activity is accomplished, greater injury can result. Having the athlete start with internal concentration and then progress to external concentration activities will help. Internal strategies such as attentional cues (verbal or kinesthetic), biofeedback and performance protocols (Gills & Williams, 2008). If rehabilitation progresses in a positive manner, and an athlete progresses towards returning to competition, external strategies can be implemented. Simulated competition and mental rehearsal drills of how competition and practice should occur will help the athlete return to a mentality that will prevent distraction.
An injury such as an ACL tear to an athlete that requires use of the knee and leg is extremely disheartening and will no doubt have an effect on their mental outlook. In order for an athlete to achieve the best rehabilitation possible, it is the athletic trainer’s responsibility to be successful at the physical but also mental rehab level. An athlete will desire to return to competition before they are ready in most instances and maintaining a positive mental state will help rehab progress smoothly. Without proper oversight and rehab, greater injury can result. Positive self talk, specific goal setting and maintaining proper concentration will help an athlete return to competition stronger than when the injury occurred. The athlete will also hopefully have developed better mental skills for competing as an added bonus. No athlete will rehab the same way, so trying to use a “universal” strategy for injury is detrimental to performance. Rehabilitation doesn’t have to alienate the athlete from their team, and if activities can be completed in the presence of team-mates, maintaining a positive outlook should occur. So don’t look at an injury or its rehabilitation as time wasted, with the proper progression and technique, it is just a small hill that will be crested sooner than you think.
Gill, D.L., & Williams, L. (2008). Psychological dynamics of sport and exercise (3rd Ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Fisher, C.A., Mullins, S.A., & Frye, P.A. (1993). Athletic trainers’ attitudes and judgments of injured athletes’ rehabilitation adherence. Journal of Athlete Training, 28(1). 43-47.
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