Jan 29, 2015

Psychology of Recovery

Being in the “zone” is often cited as a factor in peak performances–but mental influences on recovery are sometimes overlooked. On Thursday afternoon, convention attendees had the opportunity to find out a little more about the psychological side of recovery. “Psychological Influences and Their Effect on the Injury and Recovery Process,” presented by Jeffrey Parr, PhD, ATC, LAT, Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh introduced some news tools for athletic trainers to use for return to play timelines.

Here is a brief synopsis from Parr on what was covered:

In this presentation we looked at the current use of psychological questionnaires in predicting return to play, which is limited. In addition, we examined previous research from our lab that uses a fear avoidance model of pain development and how this model may be able to predict recovery through the use of identifying psychological risk factors.

Attendees got to look at the recovery process through more of a psychological aspect versus a physical perspective, and they learned to identify individuals who may be at risk. This topic is beneficial to any athletic trainer looking to learn more about the psychological distress an athlete faces following injury and how this influences their recovery.

It is important to remember that there are additional ways to identify whether an athlete will have a prolonged recovery. Psychology of injury should not be overlooked. This talk provided insight for easy-to-use questionnaires that can provide athletic trainers with more tools to determine return to play timelines.

---

Click here to return to the Web version of the newsletter.