Sports Trauma

Repetitive Stress Performance Problems (RSPPs) do not arise suddenly or in a vacuum; they are the result of an athlete being exposed to internal and external stressors over an extended period of time. Stressors can take a physical or emotional form.

Physical injuries such as concussions, broken bones, and muscle or ligament pulls and tears, are examples of physical stressors that can become a source of preoccupation and concern–– especially when significant levels of chronic pain are concerned. Witnessing physical injury can also act as a stressor.

Emotional stressors often accompany physical injuries.When an athlete is unable to perform due to injury they can experience feelings of loss, anxiety, embarrassment, fear of re-injury, loss of self-esteem or personal identity and frustration over not being able to train. When physical injury is not an issue, RSPPs can be associated with significant unresolved emotional stressors from the past, disrupting an athlete’s capacity for emotional regulation. These unresolved emotional stressors play a major role in Slump Cycles and can directly impact an athlete’s career.

Whether a Sports Trauma will occur is determined by how an athlete perceives and interprets their experience of personal physical and emotional stressors.