Short-Term Psychological Intervention: A Study of Long-Term-injured Competitive Athletes

Abstract

Objective:To explore the effectiveness of psychological interventions for a sample of competitive athletes with long-term injuries.Design:Modified 2-group, pretreatment and posttreatment (repeated measure).Patients:58 patients, 14 in the experimental group and 44 in the control group.Interventions:Three intervention strategies: stress management and cognitive control, goal-setting skills, and relaxation/guided imagery.Main Outcome Measure:Mood level was used as the outcome variable.Results:The experimental group had a higher overall mood level at the midpoint and end of rehabilitation and were also feeling more ready for competition than the control group was, both as rated by themselves and by the treating physiotherapist The only strategy to show statistical differences was relaxation/guided imagery.Conclusions:The results of this study support the idea that a short-term intervention has the potential to elevate mood levels in competitive athletes with long-term injuries.