‘Reaching Out for a Helping Hand’ – The Role of Social Support in Sports Injury Rehabilitation.

It is widely accepted that psychosocial factors can have an influencing role in sports injury risk and the rehabilitation process. The ability of an athlete to effectively cope with elevated stress can determine injury rate and affect rehabilitation outcomes. Sports injury rehabilitation represents a period of time in an athlete’s life where heightened stress levels are the ‘norm’, and one where the athlete is increasingly reliant on others to help them manage these stressors. Sports injury practitioners are ideally placed to provide quality social support to injured athletes. This article will review the role of social support within sports injury rehabilitation to raise awareness and stimulate reflection on our current practice with injured athletes