Thursday, 23 October 2008
Expert advice on returning from injury
« where does comotivate fit? | Main | NaNoWriMo - good luck everyone! »Expert advice from Dr. Jenny Susser Hospital for Special Surgery in New York...
A licensed clinical psychologist at the Women’s Sports Medicine Center at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, Dr. Susser offered the following tips to amateur athletes who have suffered a debilitating injury and who are also troubled by fears about returning to sport or risk of re-injury:
• Start with resolving the physical issues of your injury. Get the best doctors, trainers, massage therapists that you can find to handle the physical part. Find people you have confidence in and if you have concerns, seek other help because if you don’t have confidence in your doctor, it can affect your healing.
• Determine what you want as an end result. Some injuries will allow you to return to sport. Some will not. Talk with your doctor and determine what is realistic.
• Find a good sports psychology practitioner. Word of mouth referrals from people you trust are useful and there are also the websites of the American Psychological Association (http://www.psyc.unt.edu/apadiv47/choosing.htm) and the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology (http://www.aaasponline.org), which now has more than 1,300 members.
• Check your insurance. Policies vary but usually if a provider is a licensed clinical psychologist, an insurance policy will cover the cost.
• Stick with the program. A serious injury can sometimes be emotionally devastating and trigger a psychological response identical to the sense of loss comparable to losing a loved one. Recovery takes time and it can vary from two sessions to two months or more depending on variables. Patients are usually the best judge of when they are emotionally prepared to return to sport.
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