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Although athletic injury is common in sport, little is documented about the application of psychological principles to injury rehabilitation. This study surveyed athletic trainers on the use of psychological strategies with injured athletes. Athletic trainers ( N = 115) responded to Likert rating scales on athlete characteristics, efficacy of psychological strategies, and perceived importance of trainer knowledge about psychological strategies. Results revealed that trainers distinguished between athletes coping most versus least successfully with injury on characteristics of willingness to listen, positive attitude, intrinsic motivation, and willingness to learn about the injury and rehabilitation techniques. Trainers rated effective psychological techniques for facilitating athlete recovery as good interpersonal communication skills, positive reinforcement, coach support, and keeping the athlete involved with the team. Knowledge about using a positive communication style, strategies for setting realistic goals, methods for encouraging positive self-thoughts, and understanding individual motivation were rated as most important.
Wiese‐Bjornstal et al. (Fri,) studied this question.