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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]

Background: The prime focus of research on sports injury has been on physical factors. This is despite our understanding that when an athlete sustains an injury it has psychosocial as well as physical impacts. Psychosocial factors have been suggested as prognostic influences on the outcomes of rehabilitation. The aim of this work was to address the question: are psychosocial factors associated with sports injury rehabilitation outcomes in competitive athletes?Study Design: Mixed studies systematic review (PROSPERO reg.CRD42014008667).Method: Electronic database and bibliographic searching was undertaken from the earliest entry until 1 June 2015. Studies that included injured competitive athletes, psychosocial factors and a sports injury rehabilitation outcome were reviewed by the authors. A quality appraisal of the studies was undertaken to establish the risk of reporting bias.Results: 25 studies were evaluated that included 942 injured competitive athletes were appraised and synthesised. Twenty studies had not been included in previous reviews. The mean methodological quality of the studies was 59% (moderate risk of reporting bias). Convergent thematic analysis uncovered three core themes across the studies: (1) emotion associated with rehabilitation outcomes; (2) cognitions associated with rehabilitation outcomes; and (3) behaviours associated with rehabilitation outcomes. Injury and performance-related fears, anxiety and confidence were associated with rehabilitation outcomes. There is gender-related, age-related and injury-related bias in the reviewed literature.Conclusions: Psychosocial factors were associated with a range of sports injury rehabilitation outcomes. Practitioners need to recognise that an injured athlete's thoughts, feelings and actions may influence the outcome of rehabilitation. [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]