A sports injury can be serious and cause profound physical and emotional distress. The physical aspects of the injury can even contribute to loss of a sports career. The emotional stress of a sports injury can result in affects such as anxiety and depression which result in obstacles to healing and future performance myers, peyton amp jensen, 2004. After injury most athletes will suffer from a change in their mood for a short length of time. This change in mood will manifest as anger, depression, tension, and low energy levels. Normally the athlete returns to their pre injury mental status once they are on their way to recovery mcdonald amp hardy, 1990 sports injuries can have a devastating impact on athletes and the search for effective psychological rehabilitation methods have been ongoing.

One study using the open ended sports injury survey found that athletes that healed the fastest engaged in more positive self talk, goal setting and healing imagery than slower healing athletes. It was found that the mental strategy of goal setting was the most productive technique and scientists believe the reason for this is that it is easy to learn and is within the athlete's control. The results of the study would suggest that there are numerous psychological factors that play an important role in injury recovery.

A number of other studies have demonstrated that speed of recovery was effected by goal setting, attitude, imagery, social support, and coping skills ievleva amp orlick,1991. Imagery is used often in training and competition, but athletes don't use it as often for recovery from healing and need to be reminded of its efficacy sordoni, hall amp forwell, 20 it has been found that an athlete's inability to return to pre injury performance levels was due to psychological factors and stressors rather than physical ones evans, harding amp fleming, 20. One of the factors with an impact on performance levels post injury is the athlete's perceived inability to demonstrate the same skills they enjoyed pre injury.

One example of this isa rugby player who returned to the game after suffering a shoulder injury. The result of this behaviour was that he put extra pressure on the one shoulder setting himself up for future injuries evans et al. When an athlete returns to the game before they are truly ready the risk for more injures or re injury is increased. Even if an athlete has been told by his sports physician that they can return to competition they may not be ready psychologically evans et al. Cupal 1998 claims evidence exists that indicates when an athlete returns to the sport before they are psychologically ready they increase the risk of more injuries there are different approaches to explaining how an athlete responds to injury. This approach focuses on the athlete's perception of the injury and it offers an explanation for individual differences in responses to injury and their perception of the injury brewer, 1994. Brewer 1994 believes that one of the positive aspects regarding the cognitive appraisal approach is that it offers explanations for the diverse responses to injuries unlike other methods that don't provide such insight.

The individual personality characteristics of the athlete that remain constant over time are a factor. Another factor is the athlete's changeable situation which they have no control of. A study of the psychology of season ending injuries amongst skiers from the usa ski team was conducted gould, udry, bridges amp beck, 1997a gould, udry, bridges amp beck, 1997b. This study included lengthy interviews and revealed different factors of the injury experience. Researchers discovered that some athletes received what they perceived were benefits from the injury. If they had a problem with the stress of the competition they may see this injury as a blessing in disguise and a way out. Performance anxiety can be another reason why an athlete sees the injury as beneficial.

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Also, rehabilitation can be physically painful and emotionally trying gould et al. Other factors researchers uncovered were the sources of stress, social support systems, and coping strategies. In some instances a severe injury can interfere with social activities especially if they are sports oriented bianco, malo, amp orlick,19.

What they learned was that there was an early phase when the athlete is injured or ill and then they move into a phase of rehabilitation where they begin to recover, and the last phase is when they are fully recovered and back to pre injury activity. Every one of these phases included a set of events that influenced the emotional and cognitive responses granito, 2001, pg. Researchers looked to cognitive appraisal to explain why some athletes suffer from greater psychological distress following an injury than others brewer, 1994. What they found was that the manner in which an athlete perceives the injury experience plays an important role in how well they recover and are able to return to pre injury performance levels brewer, 2001, as cited in gayman amp crossman, 2003. The time of the year when an athlete is injured may determine how well and fast they recover and return to competition. For example, one athlete may be distraught and stressed over being injured post season because after all his hard work and team effort he will not be able to participate in the play offs. Another athlete may regard the injury as beneficial because they can get out of a horrendous season where the team didn't do very well.

The athlete who perceives the injury in a more positive light will have an easier time of recovery than the athlete who experiences more negative emotions surrounding the injury gayman amp crossman, 2003 pre season is important because after a break from sports the athletes are ready to get back in the game again and are looking forward to try outs. The more severe the injury is the greater the athlete's frustration and disappointment gayman amp crossman, 2003. An injury that isn't serious enough to keep the athlete out for the entire season may not be as devastating for some because they become motivated to heal and spend the rest of the season in the game. An athlete who is out due to injuries during mid season can be more stressed because by this time the team members are bonding.

The athlete will also have lost some of their physical abilities that are important to the game. The team has been traveling and playing many games together by mid season and the injured athlete will feel that they are missing out on the camaraderie and fun gayman amp crossman, 2003. When an athlete is injured end of season the success of the entire team may be hindered and this is a source of great stress and disappointment for the athlete. If it's the athlete's last year of college, for example, the injury could end his career in sports.

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If the injury is severe enough regardless the season it is devastating for the athlete and requires different and more intense coping techniques gayman amp crossman, 2003. Finally, the playoffs are important because the team has bonded and worked hard together for an entire season to get that far. Injuries sustained during this time could hamper efforts for the championship title not to mention the personal satisfaction of success gayman amp crossman 2003 how an athlete reacts to their injury may be based on how they personally view the situation. For instance, injury in pre season may be regarded more negatively by one athlete than another. One study found there were differences in the perceptions of male and female injured athletes. It was found that male athletes had reported a more positive relationship with their coaches than the females.

Males also were more apt to have a special person in their lives that they received emotional support from. It was discovered that female athletes were more apt to worry about how their injuries would affect their future health than the males granito, 2002. Regardless of male or female, it would appear that a good social support network and positive relationships with coaches are important when an athlete sustains an injury. There are, however, more factors involved in the success of an athlete's rehabilitation and recovery than that of emotional support from others. Other interventions and coping mechanisms involve goal setting, imagery, and self talk ievleva amp orlick, 1991 there are numerous psychological intervention strategies for rehabilitation from sports related injuries. Oftentimes the athletes' erroneous thoughts about intervention strategies keep them away from getting the help they need to recover more quickly and fully.