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Factors influencing sport injury risk, rehabilitation outcomes, and return to sport processes have been the focus in various research disciplines (sports medicine, psychology and sociology). One discipline, with over 50 years of scholarship, is the psychology of sport injury. Despite the research in this field, there is no evidence-based consensus to inform professional practice. The aim of this original and timely consensus statement is to summarise psychological sport injury research and provide consensus recommendations for sport practitioners seeking to implement psychological principles into clinical practice. A total of seven experts with extensive experience outlined the consensus objectives and identified three psychology of sport injury sub-domains: risk, rehabilitation and return to sport. The researchers, grouped in pairs, prepared initial drafts of assigned sub-domains. The group met in Stockholm, and the three texts were merged into a draft and revised in an iterative process. Stress responses are the strongest psychological risk factor for acute injuries. Intra- and interpersonal factors, as well as sociocultural factors, are demonstrated psychosocial risk factors for overuse injuries. Stress management and mindfulness interventions to prevent injuries have been successfully implemented. The rehabilitation process may influence athlete's cognitive, emotional, and behavioural responses. Social support, mindfulness, acceptance-based practices, and cognitive-behavioural based intervention programs reduce negative reactions. Return to sport includes various stages and different trajectories. Returning athletes typically experience concerns regarding competence, autonomy, and relatedness. It is recommended that athletes focus on the physical, technical, and psychological demands of their sport as they progress to increasingly intense activities. Interdisciplinary collaboration (e.g., sports medicine and psychology) would be beneficial in enhancing clinical practice and improving athlete outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The burden of sports injury in soccer is high, and return to sport outcomes following injury are often poor. This is compounded by a current lack of understanding surrounding the factors that may optimize psychological readiness to return to sport. Consequently, in the present study, we aim to further our understanding of these issues by examining the role of perceived social support in predicting psychological readiness to return to sport. In doing so, we extend previous research by examining whether reinjury anxiety is a mediating factor in this relationship. A sample of 150 previously injured soccer players (mean age = 25.32 y) completed measures of perceived social support, reinjury anxiety during rehabilitation, and psychological readiness to return to sport. Mediation analyses showed that reinjury anxiety partly accounted for the positive relationship between perceived social support and psychological readiness to return to sport. These findings suggest that injured soccer players with higher perceptions of social support will experience less reinjury anxiety during rehabilitation and, as a consequence, will be more psychologically ready upon return to sport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored UK female football players' perceptions of their talent development environments using the Talent Development Environment Questionnaire. Participants were 137 UK-based female football players (Mage = 16.06, SD = 1.90) from Football Association Girls' Centres of Excellence and Football Association Women's Super League Development Squads. Players had most positive perceptions of long-term development focus and support network, whereas the least positive perceptions were of communication and understanding the athlete. Sport psychologists could offer significant support in (a) planning for football-specific development and career progression, (b) communication with key social agents, and (c) holistic player development and well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives The purpose of this study was to examine career experiences of UK-based female youth soccer players from a holistic perspective with a view to producing a grounded theory of factors contributing to career/talent development and transitions in UK youth female soccer. Methodology A Grounded Theory methodology (Corbin & Strauss, 2008) was used. Negative case (Denzin, 1989) former female soccer players (N = 13), their best friend (N = 13), soccer coaches (N = 4), and teachers (N = 8) took part in semi-structured interviews about factors associated with talent development and career transitions in female youth soccer. Results Multiple social agents (players, team-mates, peers, teachers, parents and siblings) need to optimally interact to ensure that an optimal talent development and learning environment is created. This will provide a supportive holistic talent development environment, lead to adaptive player-level changes, and a greater chance of successful athletic and dual career development. Conclusions This study presents a rich understanding of the dual careers of players who did not make it in female soccer. By considering their perspectives alongside of a range of important social agents, we have been able to construct a substantive grounded theory of factors contributing to career/talent development and transitions in UK youth female soccer. As a result, these findings may contribute to policy and practice development in UK female youth soccer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at the challenges facing sports medicine practitioners in working with young athletes as well as dealing with the psychosocial responses to sports injury. Topics mentioned include the strategies for injury rehabilitation including social support and progressive muscular relaxation and their benefits, the misconception about psychological rehabilitation, and the role of motivation in rehabilitation compliance.

Psychosocial factors have an influencing role in sports injury risk and the rehabilitation process, and the ability of an athlete to cope with elevated stress can determine injury rate and affect rehabilitation outcomes. Sports injury practitioners are ideally placed to provide quality social support to injured athletes and this article will review the role of social support within the rehabilitation process to raise awareness and stimulate reflection on our current practice with injured athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has found perfectionism dimensions to predict coping strategies in sport when dealing with various stressors. We aimed to extend previous research by examining the interactive effects of perfectionism dimensions on strategies employed by marathon runners to cope with injury. This involved testing the hypotheses of the 2 × 2 model of perfectionism in marathon runners. Marathon runners (n = 224, female n = 81, M age = 39.77 years, SD  = 9.50 years) completed measures capturing four subtypes of perfectionism (pure self-oriented perfectionism, pure socially prescribed perfectionism, mixed perfectionism, and non-perfectionism) and strategies for coping with injury (problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, and avoidance coping). Moderated regression analyses provided support for all four hypotheses of the 2 × 2 model for problem-focused coping, one hypothesis for emotion-focused coping, and none for avoidance-coping. Problem-focused coping was highest for pure self-oriented perfectionism and lowest for pure socially prescribed perfectionism. Emotion-focused coping was higher for pure self-oriented perfectionism compared to non-perfectionism. Finally, avoidance coping was similar across all subtypes. The results provide initial evidence that the 2 × 2 model of perfectionism explains differences in the use of coping strategies in context of marathon running injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]