Psychosocial factors in sports injury rehabilitation and return to play

pre-printThe goal of this review is to provide insight into the principles and practices that guide psychological intervention with injury and in so doing cultivate a psychologically minded approach to injury for the medical provider. The chapter is divided into two parts. Part 1 provides an overview of the research literature, which serves as a foundation for the brief review of clinical practices that follow in Part 2. Examination of the research literature will highlight four areas including: (1) psychological factors influencing rehabilitation, (2) social factors impacting rehabilitation (3) performance concerns among returning athletes, and (4) tools/inventories for assessing psychological readiness to return. The section on clinical practices highlights the Affective Cycle of Injury as a model for clinical intervention and the Sports Medicine Injury Checklist as a practical guide for assessment and triage. Finally, a brief synopsis of an injury intervention plan is provided, and the influence of pain and fear in the rehabilitation process is described