Being injured as an athlete is physically and mentally challenging.
The injury itself can be painful, and the time away from your sport and the road you must take to recover can be mentally and emotionally exhausting.
Knowing the challenge being injured presents, you want to be sure your mind is strong throughout the process.
But not only that, you want to ensure you are making the most of your time while you’re injured. Doing all you can to get yourself ready to perform at your peak once you return.
That is where mental training for injury recovery comes into play.
Why Mental Training Is Needed During Injury Recovery
I worked with a soccer player this past spring who was coming off knee surgery. This wasn’t the first time she’d injured her knee and was the second surgery she’d had on it.
Since it wasn’t the first time she’d had surgery, she knew the challenge that was ahead of her. Which is one of the reasons she reached out to me.
She wanted to be sure she was mentally prepared for the fall season.
In addition to being mentally prepared, she also wanted to be sure she did not return to play scared of reinjuring herself.
That highlights two of the main reasons mental training during injury recovery is important: playing scared and not being prepared to return to play.
Playing Scared
I work with a lot of athletes who are dealing with fear. Most of them are struggling with the fear of failure, while some, like the soccer player, deal with fear of injury.
The fear of injury is even stronger when you’re coming off a recent injury. It’s natural to be afraid of reinjuring yourself.
However, when you play scared, whether it’s due to fear of making mistakes or a fear of getting injured, you hold yourself back. You will not be performing up to your potential.
We want to make sure you aren’t playing with any fear when you return to play. Mental training will help minimize and manage your fear, no matter if it’s the fear of failure or the fear of reinjury you are struggling with.
Feeling Less Prepared
When you’re out with an injury, you won’t be practicing as much. You also won’t be getting as much game-like experience. This makes it difficult to be in the flow of the game and have trust in yourself when you return.
With mental training, we will work to ensure you are as prepared as you can be when you return to play.
The soccer player and I used mental training tools like visualization and self-talk to strengthen her mindset and make sure she felt as prepared as possible when the fall season rolled around.
While you may not be practicing and training as much physically, you want to be sure you are mentally prepared and your thoughts are working to help you play well and build confidence, rather than holding you back.
Top Benefits of Mental Training During Injury Recovery
In addition to managing the top two negatives athletes often experience when returning to play after an injury – playing scared and not feeling prepared – there are a few key benefits of mental training during injury recovery that are worth noting.
These benefits, along with managing the two negatives discussed above, are the main reasons you want to focus on the mental side of your game while injured.
Benefit #1: Keeping Spirits High
Being injured is heartbreaking. No matter if you’re out for a few weeks, a few months, or the entire season, being injured is frustrating and devastating for any athlete to experience.
This makes it difficult to keep your spirits high throughout the recovery process.
However, keeping your spirits high and having a positive attitude will do nothing but aid in your recovery. While being negative and down will only make the recovery process more difficult.
I know there is nothing fun or exciting about being injured. That’s not what I mean when I say you want to keep your spirits high during the recovery process.
What I do mean, though, is that you want to have an optimistic outlook. See the good. Notice the progress you are making and feel good about the steps you’re taking each day to get better.
Keeping your spirits high is all about your thinking. With mental training, you will work to gain stronger control over your thoughts. Not only will this help you during the recovery process, but will also be beneficial when you return to play.
Benefit #2: Building Mental Skills Proactively
One of the reasons the soccer player reached out to me was because she noticed mental skills she was lacking.
Yes, she wanted to be sure she stayed positive throughout her time injured and while recovering, but she also recognized it was a great opportunity to focus on some of the mental aspects of her game she saw as weaknesses.
One key mental area we focused on was playing aggressively (managing fear of failure).
Even though she wasn’t playing during the summer, we were still able to focus on altering patterns of thinking and using other sports psychology techniques to strengthen her mindset.
For yourself, utilizing mental training during the injury recovery process is a great way to proactively build mental skills.
No matter your level, a stronger mental game will equal higher levels of production on the field or court.
Benefit #3: Having Confidence When You Return
It’s difficult to have high levels of confidence in yourself and your skills when you’re unable to play.
Confidence thrives on the experience of success.
When you play well, whether in practice or games, confidence grows. The reason is because you are building the memory of success. Memory that is difficult to come by when you’re sidelined with an injury.
With mental training, we can work on building your confidence even though you are not actively playing.
One of the ways we do so is through sports visualization. Visualization is the practice of imagining yourself performing in the comfort of your mind. It is by far one of my favorite tools for athletes to use while injured.
When you visualize, your mind responds in a very similar way to when you perform your skills in real life. What this means is, you are strengthening neural connections and building the memory of success you need for confidence.
Another way we build confidence while you’re injured is through self-talk.
The way we think leads to the way we feel. If we want to have higher self-confidence, we must think in a more confident way.
However, thinking is also largely subconscious. If your natural, automatic thought patterns are negative, you will doubt yourself.
What we can do is retrain your brain and alter your natural thought patterns. Making them more positive and confident.
Mental Coaching for Injury Recovery
Recognizing the benefits of mental training during injury recovery, let’s examine how you can get started with mental training for yourself.
The most optimal way to use mental training while injured is working with a mental performance coach.
A mental performance coach will help you identify your current strengths and weaknesses in terms of your mental game, and then guide you through the mental training process.
Here at Success Starts Within, we offer a 12-week one-on-one mental performance coaching program. Click here to schedule a free introductory call to learn more, or you can fill out the form below.
Another way you can get started with mental training is by making use of it on your own. If you would like to go that route, there is another resource we have available: Mental Training Advantage.
Mental Training Advantage is an app that offers daily mental training videos, along with on demand training tools and courses.
Click here to get a 7-day free trial of the Mental Training Advantage app.
Whether you work with a coach or on your own, making use of mental training while injured is a powerful way to ensure you return to play stronger and ready to perform your best!
