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"My knee’s shot, my knee’s shot. There goes my whole career. It’s over. I’m through."

- Catastrophising response of a football player immediately after an injury (9)

for a full recovery, and what is expected of the athlete during this process. It helps if they understand how the injury will heal and how the suggested treatment exercises aid this process. Be sure the explanations of the injury and healing process are in terms they can understand with medical jargon simplified when necessary.

Education will also challenge helplessness as the athlete learns what he/she can do to improve their injury status.

Learning and

practising specific coping strategies such as relaxation and imagery can increase their sense of control. Individuals with chronic pain, for example, felt more confident in their ability to control their pain the more they used coping strategies (8). Pay attention to what they can control (eg. completion of treatment exercises, effort) versus what they cannot (eg. games missed). Focus on the reasons why they can cope with the pain (eg. remembering past rehabilitation success).

Remember, focusing on the facts that support optimism will work the best and facilitate recovery.

References 1. Sullivan MJL, Stanish W, Waite H, Sullivan ME, and Tripp D. Catastrophizing, pain, and disability in patients with soft tissue injuries. Pain 1998;77:253-260

2. Sullivan MJL, Bishop SR and Pivik J. The pain catastrophizing scale: Development and validation. Psychological Assessment 1995;7:524-532 3. Udry E, Gould D, Bridges D and Beck L. Down but not out: Athlete responses to season-ending injuries. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology 1997;19: 229-248 4. Sullivan MJL, Thorn B, Haythornthwaite JA et al. Theoretical perspec- tives on the relation between catastrophizing and pain. The Clinical Journal of Pain 2001;17:52-64 5. Grau JW and Meagher MW. Pain modulation: It’s a two-way street. Psychological Science Agenda 1999;May/June:10-12 6. Lysholm J and Wiklander J. Injuries in runners. American Journal of Sports Medicine 1987;15:168-171 7. Theodorakis Y, Beneca A, Malliou P, Antoniou P, Goudas M, and Laparidis K. The effect of a self-talk technique on injury rehabilitation. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology 1997;9:S164 8. Keefe FJ, Kashikar-Zuck S, Robinson E, Salley A, Beaupre P, Caldwell D et al. Pain coping strategies that predict patients’ and spouses’ ratings of patients’ self-efficacy. Pain 1997;73:191-200 9. Lieber J. Deep scars. Sports Illustrated 1990;87(24):72-78

Dr Edmund O’Connor, PhD, is chief psychologist of the PEAK, Pain and Headache Programmes at Rehabilitation Professionals in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA. He is a certified consultant through the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology and member of the United States Olympic Committee.

health

Maximising the potential of people and organisations has been at the core of vielife's activities since 1989. Initially established to provide medical and biomedical services to elite athletes, the organisation has steadily diversi- fied over the last ten years to provide health & well-being services to senior executives, athletes and large corporations. The following part-time/consult- ing opportunities have arisen within the organisation.

Medical Practitioners Previous experience of undertaking corporate health screening. Sports medicine qualifications are desirable.

Physiotherapists / Osteopaths Minimum of seven years' clinical experience. Experience of working with an athletic population is desirable.

Dieticians (State Registered) Minimum five years' clinical experience. Experience of working with an athletic population is desirable.

All Candidates should have excellent presentation and communication skills.

vielife is also interested to receive letters of interest from the following spe- cialists; sleep, stress, ergonomics, cardiac rehabilitation and exercise reha- bilitation.

Please send a covering letter and current CV outlining your practical skills and attributes to the vielife human resources manager at jobs@vielife.com. Applications received after October 18th will be held on file and considered for future positions within the organisation. All positions are London-based.

Find out more about us at www.vielife.com

pertise ● Training for medical professionals

● Courses are designed to help professionals give tailor-made advice on health topics based on the patient’s readiness to change

● All training can be tailored to the specific needs of the professions (eg. GPs, nurses)

● Modules follow the recommendations of the National Service Frameworks

● Option to carry out a ‘needs assessment’ to match local requirements against HImPs

● Courses can also include a combination of site-based and distance-learning

or visit www.healthexpertise.co.uk Note: healthEXpertise Ltd. has been formed by a group of

training specialists committed to delivering high quality training to medical professionals. Partners include SportEX, The Gayton Group and Dawn Vernon Associates

SportEX 7

For more information telephone 01380 724111