Derrick Rose, the Chicago Bulls point guard, was awarded the MVP in 2011, and the media and fans envisioned Rose’s future filled with more MVP trophies and, perhaps, the NBA Championship. But sports have many twists of fate, and over the last two full seasons, Rose was sidelined with two knee injuries, limiting the Bulls’ star to only 10 games. Now, instead of the conversation revolving around Derrick Rose as a future champion, the discussion is centered on whether or not Rose is injury-prone and doomed to have a career rattled with setbacks.
Rose’s past offseason marked another grueling rehabilitation from a knee injury, and fans and the media looked at the approaching season with optimism, but in a game against the Cavaliers at the end of October, Rose sprained his ankles. He returned six days later, only to re-aggravate the injury against the Bucks. Rose started openly discussing life after basketball, and the media, once again, labeled him as injury-prone.
There is a substantial list of athletes who were filled with talent but could never stay healthy long enough to reach their potential: Greg Oden, Mark Pryor, Darren McFadden. So, what does it mean to be injury-prone and what role can a sports psychology consultant play in the rehabilitation?
For athletes like Derrick Rose, they sometimes begin to play in fear because in the back of their minds, they may be worrying about re-injury. Of course, physical elements are major factors in talking about repeat injuries, but the mental side of rehabilitation is often overlooked.
For example, if an athlete subscribes to the mentality that they are injury-prone, then there is a high probability for re-injury to occur. In dealing with psychological stress and frustration, an athlete may not play to their pre-injury capacity. The mind and body work together, and if the subconscious is in fear of re-injury, then the body will react, thus potentially putting the player at risk. With this plaguing the back of their minds, it is possible for the muscles to tense up, which may increase the chances of injury.
Visualization and the Injured Athlete
Many of these athletes do not want to hear their problem might be mental because they probably believe that they are relaxed, but they can benefit from some type of mental distraction or mental relaxation to ease their minds. This would enable them to learn to shut down the fear and anxiety of re-injury. For instance, when LeBron James was battling his anxiety over winning a championship with the Miami Heat in his first season in South Beach, cameras showed him in the locker room reading “The Hunger Games” and appearing relaxed. This is a great example of a distraction. It takes the mind away from the task at hand and, from my experience, some athletes need that.
The other important aspect of overcoming the mental side of being injury-prone is visualization. When an athlete is dealing with repeat injuries, it is important for him to work through them and attempt visualization exercises. An athlete like Derrick Rose has driven to the lane for a lay up countless times, but what happens when an athlete begins to visualize an injury instead of a successful play? It happens and it can increase the pressure and anxiety.
Athletes practice and repeat their processes over and over again to the point where they are almost second nature; they know what they are supposed to do. They can close their eyes and visualize. But when they have injury on their minds, then that may cause a subliminal impediment. They actually begin visualizing an injury instead of a successful play. In situations like these, a sports psychology consultant can step in and help the athlete overcome this subconscious battle.
Returning to the Springboard
For example, I have a former client who was gymnast who experienced an injury. She was about to jump off the springboard to jump the vault, and she did not hit the springboard quite right. She went head first into the vault. Her injuries were serious, and she had a concussion. Of course, this incident had significant psychological ramifications. She had a hard time stepping back onto the floor. For quite some time, she was unable to even visualize her routines without seeing herself being injured.
In order to help her overcome her psychological block, I accompanied her to the gym and helped her through her workouts. She would count the steps she took as she ran towards the springboard, which she had done numerous times before, but now she had to know how to actually count to keep her on track and focused to eliminate the fear. She would run and stop dead in her tracks at the springboard. Her mind would not allow her to physically go through with the rest of the routine.
After she ran toward the springboard and counted her steps, she began the exercise again, but this time she would run back and visualize putting her hands on the vault. Then she would run down and place her hands where she would normally to run through her routine. It was a series of repetitions, visualizations and positive self-talk. She had to talk herself into understanding that she had to run ten steps, then hit the springboard and place her hands on the vault, then stop. She had to repeat this until she had the confidence to make this work, but she eventually returned to gymnastics (she was a level 10 gymnast) and began to compete successfully again: a testimony to mental toughness and how the mind and body components work together.
For any athletes who are considered injury-prone, it is really important to talk to a sports psychology consultant: to help eliminate the stigma associated with the media’s use of the term “injury-prone” and to be able to overcome fear of re-injury. While it is sometimes difficult for athletes who are experiencing multiple injuries, it is essential to realize that in order to heal the body, the mind must concur.
This is my second blog post for Psychology Today, and I hope you will continue to read. Make sure to learn more about the Ohio University Coaching Education program and Mind Over Body Athletics, LLC.