Goal Setting: Use and Effectiveness for Injured Athletes

september 2008  35 © 2008 Human Kinetics · Att 13(5), pp. 35-38 INJURY is a frequent consequence of being an athlete or participating in recreational sport. Each year in the United States, it is estimated that 7 million child and adult sport participants sustain injuries1 and more than 2 million sport injuries result in an emergency room visit, surgery, and/or rehabilitation.2 When athletes become injured, physical limitations are much more obvious than mental limitations. An adequate rehabilitation program, including both physical and psychological intervention, is essential for most athletes to reach full recovery. Due to a high percentage of nonadherence (30–91%) to sport injury rehabilitation programs,3,4 psychological skills may be used to increase adherence and subsequently decease recovery time. Goal setting and mental imagery (with relaxation) can be used to improve adherence, the most common behavioral problem following sport injury.5 Along with improvements in adherence to integrating mental skills into the rehabilitation program, athletes could experience an increase in self-confidence and motivation, as well as a reduction in anxiety and pain associated with rehabilitation.