As an athletic trainer, I have 6-8 weeks to work with an intercollegiate level volleyball athlete in order to get her back out on the court. She has gone through extensive surgery on her knee in order to repair her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
Many athletes go through a phase of depression, anger, and/or tension after suffering the consequences from an injury during intercollegiate athletics (Freedman, Glasgow, Glasgow, & Bernstein, 1998). Not only does this injury have the potential for comprising detrimental effects on her volleyball career, but also her career as a student. Freedman and colleagues (1998) studied the effects these types of injuries have on the academic career of intercollegiate athletes. Results show lower grades correlating with the injuries of university student athletes.
First things first, we need to set short term goals together. For example, how many times a week she wants to work with me, how long she wants to meet for, how hard she is willing to work in order to get back to playing again. I need to be able to find out where she is at physically and mentally before working with her through rehabilitation. Getting to know her through the first couple of sessions together, I will be able to determine what sort of psychological skills I will need to provide her with in order to get her back to where she was before her injury, if not even more mentally stable.
It is my job to keep her highly motivated, concentrated, relaxed, and focused on meeting her goal of returning to the game healthy and ready to pick up where she left off, as well as keeping her up on her academic career. Not only do I need to plan out the exercises that will help to strengthen her body during this recovery phase, but I also need to schedule activities that will benefit her mentally, as well as be sure she is keeping up in school.
There are many factors that can play into the role of the rehabilitation process. Does she have social support from loved ones, her coaches, and her other teammates? What sort of sport confidence and self confidence does she have? Has she been injured before? Where does she stand in her career? Has she had any sort of experience with psychological skills previously? Through the answers of these questions, activities can be applied in aiding in her recovery phase. It has been shown that the use of relaxation and imagery activities will help to improve psychological skills during rehabilitation (Handegard, Joyner, Burke, & Reimann, 2006).
According to Gill & Williams 2008, imagery is one of the most effective ways of coping with pain and staying highly motivated during the rehabilitation process. We will incorporate imagery sessions every other time we meet. I want to be sure to keep her relaxed and focused on getting healthier and stronger each session. These sessions will concentrate on her goals she has set for returning to play after 6-8 weeks. Towards the beginning we will just focus on the simple skills, whereas towards the end of the whole process we will gear more towards where she left off in terms of her sport specific skills. We will focus on her believing and seeing herself playing again over and over in her head.
Through rehabilitation, imagery, attention skills, and cognitive control skills will allow this volleyball athlete to get back out there on the court and meet our goal of 6-8 weeks (Gill, & Williams, 2008). Throughout the 6-8 week process, this athlete will have developed strong psychological skills, and will be mentally prepared for rejoining her team and being able to play competitively again. She will be able to continue her skills of imagery, attention, and cognitive control in order to aid in her process of becoming a better volleyball athlete.
REFERENCES:
Freedman, K.B., Glasgow, M.T., Glasgow, S.G., & Bernstein, J. (1998). Anterior cruciate ligament injury and reconstruction among university students. Clinical Orthopaedics & Related Research, 356. pp. 208-212. Retrieved from http://journals.lww.com/corr/Abstract/1998/11000/Anterior_Cruciate_Ligament_Injury_and.28.aspx doi: N/A
Gill, D., & Williams, L. . (2008). Psychological dynamics of sport and exercise. pp. 71-78. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Handegard, Initials, Joyner, Initials, Burke, Initials, & Reimann, Initials. (2006), Relaxation and guided imagery in the sports rehabilitation context. Journal of Excellence, (10), pp. 146-164. Retrieved from http://www.zoneofexcellence.ca/Journal/Issue11/RelaxationGuidedImagery.pdf doi: N/A
So much of the mental aspect of being an athlete is time management and academics, so incorporating that into her rehabilitation was wonderful. As a coach, I love to hear that. I like the direction you took with her goal setting: allowing her to have a say in when and how long her workouts would be. A little give and take between the athletic trainer and athlete is healthy in my opinion, and also helps form a positive relationship. I also like that you included imagery in her sessions as well. Keeping imagery consistent during rehabilitation will only increase her success both physically and mentally. The questions you asked regarding her family support, injury history, self confidence, etc. are such a big part of figuring out where to start. Getting to know this athlete individually and adapting the program specifically to her needs is vital. Overall I really enjoyed your approach to working with this athlete.
ReplyDeleteA lot of people tend to overlook the importance of rehabbing the an athlete's mental skills and abilities after a significant injury, more so the athlete. They believe that physical development is all that is needed. Very good outlook on rebuilding this athlete in all aspects. I also believe that the development of mental skills is as, if not, more important than physical. Goal setting and relationship building with the patient is very important, b/c being able to understand their mind set and direction will help you throughout the process. Also, by building a relationship with the patient, they will be more willing the trust that you will help them return, building confidence. I also like how you included imagery in the rehab process. It's a great skill for an athlete to develop to stay motivated, positive, and determined. Also, it's a great skill that carries over to the court, field, etc... whether it's during training/practice or competition. Great approach to getting this collegiate athlete back on track in sport and academically.
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