Coping with an injury is not easy on your mind as well as your body. How you confront it can go a long ways as for the effect it has on you all throughout the rehab process up until when you get back to competing again. There are some tactics I used when dealing with my own injuries that I noticed to be effective and know could serve others.

Before the basketball season of my junior year of college, I suffered a major hip injury that consisted of a torn labrum, a bone spur, and cartilage damage that called for extensive surgical treatment. The repair process was tedious and seemed everlasting at times. I saw a number of medical professionals a week to have my progression tracked and be given therapy followed by eight months of absolute rehab before I could even participate in basketball again. I had to redshirt my entire junior season but I could still image myself on the court with my teammates.

You should start training for your sport again as soon as your physician permits you to. One of the very best ways to rehabilitate an injury is by carrying out something you take pleasure in. This is important psychologically as well as physically as you will not only want to compete again, but you will eventually start to feel like you can compete again. As soon as your mind and body start to work together again, you will know you’re ready to compete. At first, my rehab incorporated upper body exercises. In addition to this I viewed game film and imagined what it would feel like and what I would do if I was playing in those games I studied.

While watching your team play, make an effort to visualise yourself playing in the game . This method, named visualization, does not entail physical participation , but can help you stay psychologically sharp when it relates to the principles of your sport and even physically sharp as you enhance your muscle memory. The popularity of making use of visualization commonly begins at the college level, but it can without a doubt be used by any athlete at any age if they are willing to learn how to make use of it. Imagine yourself as one of your teammates that plays the same position and imagine what you would most likely do in the same way and what you would do differently. This mental exercise can keep your mind and body in tune to your sport to make sure that you are more ready and able to perform when you come back from your injury. When I was finally able to physically do what I had mentally pictured being able to do, the transition will felt very natural and I believe I was able to come back better than before in some very essential aspects.

Especially in team sports, it is important to remember to be encouraging of your team and be as spirited as possible when you are on the sidelines watching them. As badly as I wished to be back on the court, I tried to stay focused on being a good teammate in any way I could because I knew that I would want my teammates to do the same for me.

When dealing with an injury sometimes your mind starts to wander, dreading the rehabilitation process or envisioning worst case scenarios. I remember consciously making myself keep my thoughts in check. One thing that helped me a lot was the simple but true idea that everything happens for a reason. Rather than dwelling on the negative aspects of my injury, this mantra enabled me to turn my injury into a positive.

It can be difficult to stay mentally “into it” when you are not physically “into it”. This is a good time to mentally train for your sport, thinking about and appreciating details that you might otherwise not have made the effort to notice. A enormous element of any sport is mental and it is just as important to grow mentally at your sport as it is physically. Not only can using routines such as visualization help keep your mind involved in the game, it can help you come back stronger and faster than before.

For more great information on how to mentally recover from injury visit the blog of Basketball player Adam Folker.

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Written by Adam Folker