PERFORMANCE

HOLISTIC REHABILITATION FOR INJURED SPORTS PERFORMERS

By Steve Ward, B.Ed(Hons), MAPSEP

THE MIND BODY CONNECTION AND THE ROLE OF THE PHYSICAL THERAPIST Injury rehabilitation is both a mental and a physical process (1) and if rehabilitation is to be as effective and as efficient as possible then it is my contention that both the mind and the body should be addressed.

The physiotherapist, sports therapist and sports masseur are all front line personnel when it comes to dealing with injured sports people, usually having the most contact with injured athletes during their treatment.

Rehabilitation researchers (2,3,4,5,6) have suggested that physical therapists can use psychological techniques with athletes to facilitate recovery and rehabilitation.

The most useful tools are: ■ interpersonal communication skills ■ understanding individual motivation ■ goal setting ■ visualisation ■ helping to maintain a positive mental attitude ■ understanding stress and anxiety.

It is important to recognise that a therapist using such skills with- in their practise is doing so to enhance rehabilitation and recovery, and that they are not there to act as a clinical psychologist or men- tal coach. The therapist needs to recognise their own limitations, and must be aware of when to refer, for example, in situations of addiction, depression and obvious mental trauma.

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This article has been written to support my presentation at the joint sportEX/SMA conference 2004. The purpose is both to raise awareness of the opportunities for physical therapists to enhance their treatment of injured sports per- formers by utilising mental training techniques, alongside their existing physical treatment.

The ideas presented are based on strategies from sports psychology and from neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), and are part of the ‘Mind Matters For Physical Therapists’ workshop programme that I have been developing with the assistance of a group of therapists from the Bournemouth Nuffield Hospital. It is not possible in this article to present a full and detailed account of each area, so this article intends to outline each of the key areas that would benefit therapists and to provide some practical tips as a starting point. For therapists who really want to integrate mental and physical processes in their work I would highly recom- mend further reading and training.

IMPROVED INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS The foundation of all good 1-1 work, and indeed group work, is the building of rapport. Where there is strong rapport between thera- pist and athlete there is likely to be clearer communication, greater trust and therefore a better relationship. It is important to under- stand that rapport can occur naturally, or it can be created and that rapport can be conscious and unconscious, verbal and non-verbal.

If a therapist has a solid understanding of how to build and create rapport then they can build more effective relationships with their clients and it is likely that the rehabilitation process will be more effective.

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