5 Tips to Overcome Fear of Re-injury

This title is even a bit triggering, isn’t it? Injury is unfortunately so common in sports, and it is absolutely earth shattering, especially when it requires surgery, or the pain lingers no matter how much physical therapy (PT), injections, and other therapies you try. It is incredibly frustrating because all you want to do is perform and get back to the sports/activities you enjoy.

If we just look at the NCAA alone, 12,500 ACL tears happen every year (Lindsey, 2018). That is JUST ACL injuries and JUST in college sports. 70% of those 12,500 ACL tears are from non-contact related injuries, i.e., pivoting, awkward landing, etc. (Lindsey, 2018). An even more uncomfortable stat? Post ACL injury, 82% of people return to sports, but only 44% return to their sports at a competitive level (Lindsey, 2018). So many athletes worry about going through the pain again, having to rehab, sitting the sidelines (seeing people pass them up), and the long-term impacts of their body if they continue competitive sports. Cue depression. Cue anxiety.

So, what can you do to move past fear after an injury?

1. Seek out support. Support is a key indicator for a positive, healthy return to sports. Whether that is from a sport psychologist, therapist, teammates, PT staff, friends/family, support must be a crucial part of your recovery. Through support, we gain a sense of comfort, trust and confidence in ourselves and our recovery plan, and even decrease our pesky mental blocks. Pretty cool, right?
   Pro tip: working with a therapist or sport psychologist is crucial to help decrease worry, anger, fear, depression, identity struggles, etc.

2. Avoid isolation. Isolation is one of the biggest reasons athletes don’t return to sports. Isolation causes depression and anxiety symptoms to develop, which often lead to negative thinking, lack of confidence, amotivation, puzzled identity, and more. Utilize your supports as often as you can.

3. Practice visualizing plays without injury reoccurring. Our brain is very keen on utilizing our reticular activating system (RAS). What is RAS? Basically, a bunch of neurons housed in our brain stem that are responsible for collecting “data” to mediate our behaviors and impact our emotions. If you keep daydreaming or visualizing about getting reinjured, those neurons are going to fire and place you in situations emotionally and physically that cause fear and a lack of flow while performing, making injury more likely. Visualize yourself having the BEST performance of your life, while also being mindful of where you are on your recovery journey – be patient there. We can’t go 0-100 real quick, sorry Drake.

4. Goal setting. You will start this process in PT by knowing the exact plan and measures you need to meet before moving to the next phase of treatment. It is here you start to see the physical progress of your body healing and getting stronger, which is a huge confidence boost. Outside of PT, it is also important to set goals with your supports (and yourself) about the next steps you want to take in your sport/activity. Maybe we lean towards retirement because we have other life goals in mind or maybe we return to sport and focus on getting back to 100%. Regardless, having a plan to achieve your realistic goals is important for motivation, identity, and confidence.

5. Inspiration. If I asked you to list all the athletes you know who have suffered an injury, I bet that list would be long. I also bet a lot of the athletes on that list returned to sports (especially at the professional level) and still had a great career. It is important to remember that you are not alone in this journey and through taking the right steps, you too can return and have an awesome career.

For those of you who continue to face recurring injuries, I hear you and see you. I am one of those athletes, too. However, if we learn to adjust and utilize our training and therapy protocols, check our own ego (this one is the hardest), and follow the steps above, we can find sports and activities fun, safe, and competitive again. Laughter and a positive mindset are truly the best medicines out there. Although it isn’t going to “fix” your injury, it will heal the mind, which will heal the body by relinquishing stress, fear, anxiety, doubt, etc. (hey, RAS)!

If you need extra support for injury recovery, please contact me to get on my caseload.

Lindsey, S. (May 2018). “Getting Back in The Game: Post-ACL Reconstruction” [Workshop]. University of North Texas, Denton, Texas.