ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the psychological implications of sport injury and management strategies for addressing rehabilitation challenges. The psychological impact of injury can range from mild alterations in athletes’ mood states to profound feelings of loss, depression and devastation, particularly in the case of career-ending or traumatic injury. The organismic valuing process is challenging and requires a supportive social environment – before or after the traumatic event – that promotes the satisfaction of three basic human needs. These needs include: competence, autonomy and relatedness. Social support has consistently been shown to help individuals overcome difficult life circumstances, sport injury being a prime example. Sport injury has been recognized as one of the greatest threats to athletic performance and athlete well-being. In organismic valuing theory, S. Joseph and P. A. Linley suggest that encountering a stressful event, such as a sport injury; can shatter a person’s assumptions or view of the world.
