Psychosocial factors in sports injury rehabilitation and return to play

The goal of this review is to provide insight into the principles and practices that guide psychological intervention with injury and in so doing cultivate a psychologically minded approach to injury for the medical provider. The chapter is divided into two parts. Part 1 provides an overview of the research literature, which serves as a foundation for the brief review of clinical practices that follow in Part 2. Examination of the research literature will highlight four areas including: (1) psychological factors influencing rehabilitation, (2) social factors impacting rehabilitation (3) performance concerns among returning athletes, and (4) tools/inventories for assessing psychological readiness to return. The section on clinical practices highlights the Affective Cycle of Injury as a model for clinical intervention and the Sports Medicine Injury Checklist as a practical guide for assessment and triage. Finally, a brief synopsis of an injury intervention plan is provided, and the influence of pain and fear in the rehabilitation process is described.