Dealing With Injuries

Last issue we looked at the emotions of frustration and anger that often go with being injured. This issue we’re going to look at how you can help speed up the process of healing and deal effectively with the down time. And what you can do to prevent yourself getting injured again in the future.

There is one tool that can be particularly useful when it comes to injuries – and it can be used in a number of ways. That tool is imagery. Imagery is the ability to create or re-create a picture in your mind where you are carrying out your sporting activity. You not only see yourself performing but you can also hear yourself, feel yourself and quite possibly taste and smell yourself or your environment as well. The more realistic you make your imagery the more effective it is. Imagery works on two different levels.

Firstly it can help increase your confidence which will in turn help improve your performance. Secondly imagery helps your performance by using the same neural routes in your brain as when you do the activity for real. The neurons or ‘muscles’ in your brain can be trained using imagery – essentially creating the desired “muscle memory” that athletes sometimes talk about.

There is plenty of research and anecdotal evidence to back up the positive effect of imagery use on performance. But there is also increasing evidence that imagery can not only help performance but also speed up the healing process. Athletes ‘image’ the physiological components that make up the injured area, for example the ankle, knee or shoulder. The greater the understanding of the physiology, the easier it is to imagine – so getting hold of scans or doing some internet research for pictures of the affected area can be wise. Then imagine the ligaments, tendons and muscles repairing themselves. You ‘see’ the flow of healthy blood going to the affected area and then carrying away the unhealthy blood. I once had a client (a golfer) with a wrist injury which was so bad that the doctors were about to schedule surgery. She had been imaging it healing for a while, and by the time the doctors were ready to do the surgery it was so much better that they didn’t. So instead, the athlete got to play another season injury free! True story! It’s completely worth trying – what else are you going to be doing in your down time anyway? And if it was to work for you wouldn’t it be worth trying to find out?

Athletes have also used imagery while injured to help motivate themselves and help them stick to their rehab schedules. Some athletes (e.g. Hare, Evans & Callow, 2008) image themselves doing the rehab exercises more successfully than they currently can – this then motivates them and gives them confidence that they will improve. This can be beneficial in the early stages of the rehabilitation process or after surgery.

You can also image yourself easing back into training, doing light training in your mind. Then you can increase this to imaging yourself training fully and then see yourself competing again and then competing at your peak. Some athletes (Hare et al., 2008) have progressively introduced these stages one step ahead of where they were physically in order to provide continuous motivation and confidence that it was all going in the right direction. It also made it completely believable for them. When you believe what you imagine, the more effective the imagery is on your performance and possibly the more effective it is in getting you back to full function again.

Whilst imagery can be beneficial, ensure that you also adhere to your medical practitioner’s advice and take things at the right pace. Your medical practitioner will tell you when you can up your physical training to the next level. They’ll be able to determine the speed of your recovery for you. Don’t push yourself back into training because you think you should be better if you haven’t had it confirmed.

It’s also important once you are fully rehabilitated that you get good training advice from an expert – a good coach, sport scientist or medical professional - or all three. Put them into a quality, periodised plan with adequate rest periods so that your body will not be susceptible to getting injured again. Prevention is always better than cure!
Remember to use all your resources when you’re unfortunate enough to be injured.

You can help yourself recover emotionally, mentally and physically with use of good self talk, imagery and attitude to lessen the negative emotional impact and to help speed up the physical recovery period.