Mental Toll of Sports Injury Rehab

Introduction

Many professional athletes will encounter major injuries throughout their careers and it is very much unfortunate to witness. The physical toll of these injuries could keep athletes out for an entire year (examples including torn anterior cruciate ligaments, torn Achilles tendon, or a broken bone such as a broken shoulder). Rehabbing from these injuries just from a physical standpoint has been mentally draining enough, however, there are also psychological barriers that need to be broken down during rehab known as Fear of Reinjury.

Mental Toll of Injuries

Various professional athletes have come out to discuss the mental trauma that comes with trying to come back from injury. Basketball star Derrick Rose discussed this mental toll during his rehab after tearing his ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and MCL (medial cruciate ligament) in a playoff game and in the rehab process of this injury. Injuries can really impact a player’s mental space because sometimes the thing that led to them getting injured could have just been a normal move.

Rigors of Rehab

Rehab can be quite rigorous and mentally taxing. Many athletes have talked about the work that it takes to come back from a severe injury and even then they may not trust their formerly injured body parts. Many athletes such as Derrick Rose mentioned above have discussed that the amount of physical work that they put in never really helped him overcome the psychological barrier that comes with the injury. Being able to trust that body part to function the way it did before is usually the hardest struggle that still takes time years after the rehab.