The Psychological Effect of Injury
Sanjay Arikupurathu
Nova Southeastern University
Introduction to Psychology
Dr. Davis
September 24, 2013

An injury can have a variety of impacts on a person’s life. There are many factors that come into play when determining the severity of an injury including, gender, age, and location on the body. An injury to oneself can be heartbreaking and can affect more than your physical state. They affect your mental and emotional well-beings as well, and create a reluctance to perform certain activities if these states become too fragile. If you are not trained mentally to persevere even during the toughest times, you may be forced to abandon the things you love doing. The time you need assistance the most is when you are coping and rehabilitating from an injury. Your support system is what will determine if you can return to full strength from your injury, no matter the severity.
For most people, an injury limits only your social activities. But for some, an injury can derail their entire life, and extinguish the things they are most passionate about. When an athlete suffers an injury, it can be a major setback in their career and livelihood. An injury to an athlete truly tests their mental toughness because it affects their ability to cope and rehabilitate as well as return to the field/court. The type of injury can range from something minor such as sprain or a bruise to a crushed bone or torn ligament. The age and type of athlete you are also contributes to the recovery period. The location on the body that the injury occurs is another determining factor. For example, there is an enormous difference for a soccer player breaking their arm and breaking their leg. One body part is one hundred percent essential to succeed in what the soccer player does, while the other is still important, but to a far lesser degree.
Age is an important factor in an injury because younger athletes tend to recover quicker and more fully than older athletes. This creates more of a mental soundness in you as well as builds up a stronger mentality for future injuries. The more experience you have with recovering from an injury, the more effort you will put in to return to full health. It is also likely that you will return to health sooner because you have been there before and you know what works well for you and what doesn’t. But there comes a time when you have had too many injuries, and your once strong mentality begins to break down along with your body. A person can only take so much of a physical beating before they are mentally drained.
At the same time though, having an injury at a young age can be detrimental to your growth as an athlete. The first time you suffer an injury, it sends shockwaves throughout your entire body. It is the first time that your body has felt this amount of pain and a natural reaction is to shut your body down. This in turn leads you to give up the sport and not want to play anymore because of the chance you could get hurt again. For a child to really develop in a sport, they must understand that they may get bruises, tears and other injuries, but when they return from the injury, they most likely will become mentally tougher as well as physically stronger due to the rehabilitation procedure. Young players must understand that injuries are part of the game, so they must learn to protect themselves in the future.
Once these players are more in their later teenage years, they decide if they want to become more competitive or play primarily socially. If they decide they want to try and play at higher levels, they train harder and as a result are more likely to injure themselves. At this stage a variety of outcomes can occur, depending on the person. If the player is determined, and does not rush back from any injury, minor or major, they can return. If the player rushes back too quickly, they may reinjure themselves immediately, or cause further damage later in life. Another perspective players can have is one of being considered weak by getting injured. The player is worried about his or her public perception of oneself, and will only further detriment their playing career as well as their life in general. If the person has a good support system, they can return both physically and mentally stronger. Instead of playing more competitively, the player may decide to play socially as a hobby. These players play for fun, and look at an injury as a “badge of honor”. An injury to some players playing socially may be uplifting in psychological wellness due to the fact that they will be provided more attention and sympathy towards.
As the player continues to grow and move onto the collegiate level, the sport becomes the entire life. When a player at this level encounters an injury, it is viewed as a “speed bump in their life”. It is at this level that the player works toward professional leagues, and competition is at its highest here. Every second counts, and an injury can be a major setback. Only the strongest minded individuals can return from major injuries at this level because a greater amount of time is spent away from teammates and the field and instead in rehabilitation clinics. These players grow wiser with every injury they sustain, and have a better understanding of how their body works and the most beneficial and quickest ways to recover. At the same time, every injury drains more from the person mentally because after each time rehabbing and building your strength up, to be shot down again can be heartbreaking. If the player decided that after the high school level, they did not want to play professionally, and only socially, an injury could end any participation in the game. Whether it is because the player does not have the time to train effectively enough during rehabilitation to return to full strength or cannot afford it, these players are more likely to turn their back on the game.
There are many different injuries that can range from bruises to broken bones, but there are also quite a few injuries that can be so severe that the player’s career is over, no matter the amount of rehabilitation that they partake in. This can be one of the most difficult times in a player’s life because they must stop playing and leave the game behind. This can occur at any age and level and if the player accepts it, and attempts to move on, the player will more than likely stay sound psychologically. If the player cannot move on, it can destroy their body further as well as put their psychological state in a place it should never be in. The road to recovery can be long and strenuous, both physically and mentally, but if the player is strong minded, and has a good support system, they can overcome most injuries.

Reference Page
Teehan, G. (2013, May 23). The Psychological Effect of injury. Retrieved September 25, 2013, from http://www.thesportinmind.com/articles/the-psychological-effect-of-injury/