Psychological Aspects of Athletic Training

The practice of athletic training involves both physical and psychological strategies when leading patients through the injury recovery process. Research on the psychology of injury offers theoretical foundations that guide the application of strategies to assist the patient with stressors that emerge during rehabilitation. This article applies theory to athletic training practice during injury recovery by examining the stressors that patients experience across the phases of rehabilitation. Addressing both physical and psychological aspects of injury recovery is expected by patients and provides a holistic care model for healthcare practitioners.

An Evaluation of an Educational Intervention in Psychology of Injury for Athletic Training Students

Context: ”Psychosocial Intervention and Referral„ is 1 of the 12 content areas in athletic training education programs, but knowledge gained and skill usage after an educational intervention in this area have never been evaluated. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention in increasing psychology-of-injury knowledge and skill usage in athletic training students (ATSs). Design: Observational study. Setting: An accredited athletic training education program at a large Midwestern university. Patients or Other Participants: Participants included 26 ATSs divided into 2 groups: intervention group (4 men, 7 women; age = 21.4 ± 0.67 years, grade point average = 3.37) and control group (7 men, 8 women; age = 21.5 ± 3.8 years, grade point average = 3.27). Data Collection and Analysis: All participants completed the Applied Sport Psychology for Athletic Trainers educational intervention. Psychology-of-injury knowledge tests and skill usage surveys were administered to all participants at the following intervals: baseline, intervention week 3, and intervention week 6. Retention tests were administered to intervention-group participants at 7 and 14 weeks after intervention. Analysis techniques included mixed-model analysis of variance (ANOVA) and repeated-measures ANOVA. Results: The Applied Sport Psychology for Athletic Trainers educational intervention effectively increased psychology-of-injury knowledge (29-point increase from baseline to intervention week 6; F2,23 = 29.358, P < .001, ηp2 = 0.719) and skill usage (50-point increase from baseline to intervention week 6; F2,23 = 5.999, P = .008, ηp2 = 0.343) in undergraduate ATSs. These increases were maintained at the 7-week and 14-week retention testing (P < .001 for both). Conclusions: This first attempt at evaluating an educational intervention designed to improve ATSs' knowledge and skill usage revealed that the intervention was effective. Although both knowledge and skill usage scores decreased by the end of the retention period, the scores were still higher than baseline scores, indicating that the intervention was effective.