Psychology in the realm of sport injury : What it is all about

Abstract

Sport injuries are a constant in physical activity and sport and represent, to a greater or lesser degree, an obstacle that most athletes have to face and which could have an impact on economical, occupational and educational aspects, as well as on physical and psychological health. Traditionally, sport injury was deemed the result of biomechanical forces exerted on the body and sustained during participation in sport activity, under which perspective the athlete is considered merely as the container of a set of parts that break down and must be repaired. In contrast, Sport Psychology has brought the individual into a central active role, both when sustaining and recovering from an injury. This paper promotes a psychological perspective on sport injury and reviews the main psychological models posed for both the pre-injury and the post-injury phases. Finally, the paper addresses some of the main problems encountered by research on sport injury and sets out several guidelines for future research in the field.