Suffering from a severe injury can be devastating to an athlete’s career. Minor injuries requiring physical therapy happen all the time; however, an injury that can potentially remove an athlete from their game for good, requires a great deal of mental determination to be able to recover physically and emotionally and make it back into the sport.
They are typically called “come back” athletes, the ones who for whatever the injury received, it was presumed they would never be able to play their sport again.
Once an athlete has reached the stage of acceptance of their injury and is able to put their mental focus where it is needed, they will actually be able to recover faster. The more severe the injury, however, the longer it may take to reach this stage. Many athletes go through a period of denial, anger and depression. A psychological professional and physiotherapist will be able to help with the emotional impact due to the injury.
Since the progressions will be slow and the set backs will be many, the “come back” athlete needs to have an extraordinary sense of self-motivation. Setting short term, easily attainable goals allows the athlete to reach them faster thus creating a higher level of self-confidence for every step of recovery.
The common denominator in any “come back” athlete’s case is the role of determination. Once set in their mind, there is no stopping them! The mental toughness it takes to make it through grueling rehabilitation is a gift and one that needs to be nurtured. The psychological impact of a severe injury can differ from athlete to athlete, but if the drive and determination are of an unsurpassed level and the athlete is committed to making a full recovery and working extra hard with not only an advanced physical therapy in Downer’s Grove, but a physiotherapist as well, they can overcome many odds.
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