Overcoming Sports Injuries and Fear of Re-Injury

Every serious sports-related injury has a serious mental and emotional component. The current treatment model for sports-related injuries examines the physical nature of the injury. This approach leaves the mental and emotional impact of the injury untreated. Mental and emotional issues and concerns can affect the athlete before surgery and during the recovery process and can show up with devastating intensity when the athlete has been cleared to play.

Our team members are trained in specific treatment protocols to help athletes break through serious sports-related injuries’ unresolved and complex aspects. Teaching the brain and nervous system how to process and integrate the overwhelming anxiety, fear of re-injury, loss, frustration, depression, anxiety, and anger helps the injured athlete restore confidence, focus, and passion and return to play without the crippling fear of re-injury that haunts so many injured athletes.

After an athlete has rehabilitated from an injury, they are cleared to play at “100%.” Again, this “100% cleared to play” only considers the athlete’s physical integrity after injury.

Our treatment protocols address the mental and emotional impact of injuries and help the athlete return to play confidently, mentally strong, and free of the fear of re-injury that holds many injured athletes back.

Pre-Surgery Treatment

Treating an athlete before surgery can eliminate many of the symptoms we see with injured athletes. Processing their rational and irrational fears before they ever have surgery makes facing surgery, the recovery process, and returning to play a remarkably different experience for the athletes who are fortunate enough to do this work before surgery.

“I have had ups and downs mentally and physically in gymnastics. ISP’s sports performance work has helped me let go of the injuries and disappointments I’ve had in my career and has helped me focus on the accomplishments that I have experienced and the ones that are soon to come. I consider Robert Andrews my personal “mind” trainer and a friend I can talk to.” ~ Former Olympian and World Champion

“I injured my knee early in the season. The pain from surgery was incredibly difficult to get through, but the anger I experienced watching the whole season go by without me being able to play was unbearable. Robert helped me work through the injury, put the loss of that season behind me, and focus on the joy of the game again. I am performing with more fierceness and determination now than before the injury. I also feel like I am playing smarter because Robert helped me see where I was wasting mental and physical focus and energy in practice and in games.” ~ Mark, College Defensive Lineman 

Sports Injury Spectrum of Severity

Intense Pain
Requires Time Off
Physical Therapy and Rehab
Surgery and Rehab
Career Threatening
Career-Ending

No matter where the injury falls on this spectrum, the athlete undergoes an intense mental and emotional crisis when injured. The athlete’s identity, sense of self, source of confidence and passion, connection to teammates, and stress outlets are suddenly taken away. For many, this experience can be so intense that it can be considered traumatic.

As an athlete moves along the spectrum of care and attention, the intensity of these emotional states increases. Put simply, the worse the news around the injury, the worse the mental and emotional reaction and suffering the athlete experiences, and the bigger the blocks to returning to high performance levels.