The Use of Imagery by Athletes During Injury Rehabilitation

Objectives: To determine whether athletes use motivational and cognitive imagery during injury rehabilitation and to develop an instrument for measuring imagery use. Design: A survey concerning imagery use during rehabilitation was administered to injured athletes. Setting: The Fowler Kennedy Sport Medicine Clinic in London, Ontario, Canada. Participants: Injured athletes (N = 71 ) receiving physiotherapy. Main Outcome Measure: The Athletic Injury Imagery Questionnaire (AIIQ). Results: As hypothesized, 2 distinct factors emerged from the items on the AIIQ: motivational and cognitive imagery. Motivational imagery was used more often than cognitive imagery in this context, yet less frequently than in other sport situations (eg, training and competition). Conclusions: The study indicates that the AllQ is a potentially useful tool through which physiotherapists and sport psychologists can examine athletes' use of imagery in injury rehabilitation.