title: Psychosocial aspects of rehabilitation in sports.
abstract: When an athlete is injured, the primary focus of the sports medicine team is to treat the physical effects of the injury. However, many injured athletes experience negative psychological responses that should also be addressed throughout the rehabilitation process. Sports medicine professions should use psychosocial skills to help decrease the negative consequences of the injury, such as fear of reinjury, anxiety, depression, and adherence to rehabilitation. These psychosocial skills include goal setting, imagery, relaxation techniques, motivation, and self-talk. This article addresses the negative consequences of injury, psychosocial skills used to aid in the rehabilitation process, and clinical implications of the psychological aspects of rehabilitation in sport.
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology, Michigan State University, 308 West Circle Drive, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. Electronic address: covassin@msu.edu.
authors.forename: Tracey
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Covassin
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology, Michigan State University, 308 West Circle Drive, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
authors.forename: Erica
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Beidler
authors.affiliation: Department of Health, Promotion, and Human Performance, Weber State University, 302 E Swenson Building, Ogden, UT 84408, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ostrowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology, Michigan State University, 308 West Circle Drive, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wallace
mesh_terms: D001007:Anxiety; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003142:Communication; D003863:Depression; D005239:Fear; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D019018:Imagery, Psychotherapy; D009042:Motivation; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010806:Physical Education and Training; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D012008:Recurrence; D012064:Relaxation Therapy; D013315:Stress, Psychological
keywords: Injury; Psychological recovery; Psychosocial skills; Rehabilitation