ABSTRACT
Over the last 20 years, the use of psychological interventions to speed recovery has become increasingly popular and vital in ensuring an athlete's a successful recovery and return to play (Ievleva and Orlick, 1991; Kamphoff et al., 2010; Williams and Scherzer, 2010).The same psychological interventions that are used to help athletes to be successful in sports are being recommended to be implemented in the rehabilitation process (Williams and Scherzer, 2010). For non-injured athletes, psychological interventions like goal setting, positive self-talk, relaxation and imagery can be used consistently to enhance performance, increase enjoyment and achieve greater satisfaction in sport (Weinberg and Gould, 2007). Injured athletes may use psychological interventions for similar reasons, such as to increase enjoyment and satisfaction with the rehabilitation process, but they can also use psychological interventions to improve recovery time, facilitate physical recovery following surgery, buffer immune system deterioration, manage pain, prevent future injuries and improve adherence to rehabilitation (Ievleva and Orlick, 1991; Petrie and Hamson-Utley, 2011).
