Write your search in the input below and press enter.
Esc to close.

The Sports Doc Chalk Talk with Dr. Chris Stankovich

Peak Performance:
Not Just for Sports, for Life

  • Products
    • Toolkits
    • Audio
    • Videos
    • Books
    • Apps
  • Services
  • Chalk Talk
    • Recent
    • Athletes
    • Coaching
    • Sports Parenting
    • Sports Administrators
    • Life
    • Administrators
  • About Dr. Stankovich
  • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Products
    • Toolkits
    • Audio
    • Books
    • Videos
    • Apps
  • Services
  • Chalk Talk
  • About Dr. Stankovich
  • Testimonials
  • Contact

Hello. Sign In

My Account
  • Login
  • Register
0
The Sports Doc Chalk Talk
Subscribe
The Sports Doc Chalk Talk with Dr. Chris Stankovich
  • Recent
  • Athletes
  • Coaching
  • Sports Parenting
  • Life
  • Administrators
Home / Blog / Pro Athletes Coming Back from Injuries Faster than Ever – What’s the Impact on Young Athletes?

Pro Athletes Coming Back from Injuries Faster than Ever – What’s the Impact on Young Athletes?

By: Dr. Chris Stankovich | @DrStankovich | May 08, 2013

No Comments

rgiii-down-seahawks

Last year we witnessed Adrian Peterson make an unbelievably fast and successful recovery from an ACL injury, and it appears as though Red Skins star quarterback Robert Griffin III is about to do the same thing this fall.  In baseball, there have been too many players to name who have successfully come back from Tommy John surgery and go on to resume their athletic careers (even though those same injuries just a few years ago were almost always career-ending injuries).  Is this a sign of better medical surgeries and procedures?  Or are we seeing increasingly more mentally tough athletes motivated to rehabilitate and quickly play again (after all, the fame and money associated with sports is bigger than ever)?  Sport psychologists would likely argue the answer is probably a little of both.

What, if any, impact does this incredibly fast injury rehabilitation experienced by Peterson (and soon RGIII) have on young athletes suffering from injuries of their own?  Are we entering an era where youth athletes are feeling similar pressures to quickly get on the field again (like their heroes are now expected to do), as well as resort to any and all pain management techniques to help along recovery?  When kids see how much criticism Chicago Bulls All Star Derrick Rose is currently receiving for not playing right now, do you think this has an impact on the way they might view their own injury rehabilitation process?

Student athletes, like their adult athlete counterparts, also feel pressure to quickly play again — even if this is experienced on a much smaller scale. Still, it should be noted that more student athletes are turning to various prescription pain medications to help in the rehabilitation effort, casting light on the lengths some kids will go in order to respond to the pressures (their own, and sometimes the team and even community) to get on the field again.

It is important for coaches and parents involved in youth sports to have both realistic expectations about sports injuries, as well as make sure to pay attention to the measures student athletes take in order to manage pain along the way.

Student athletes most at-risk for additional dangers during rehabilitation include:

  • Student athletes with a high degree of Athletic Identity – meaning they base most, if not all, of their self-worth on being an athlete
  • Student athletes who aspire to one day play college or professional sports and feel as though an injury might impede their progress toward their future goals
  • Student athletes who experience a lot of pressure to quickly play again (from coaches, teammates, and even the community at-large)
  • Student athletes who think of themselves as invincible, often citing athletes like Peterson and Griffin (the exceptions, not the norm) when it comes to how quickly they recovered from their injuries

Advances in medicine are great, but student athletes who go to extreme measures to speed up the normal time needed for injury recovery may be doing themselves more harm than good with this thinking.  Be sure to do your part by talking to kids about safe and responsible ways to rehabilitate from injuries so that they can do it safely — and thereby extend their athletic careers as a result.

www.drstankovich.com

Our sport performance apps have been used by athletes around the world – pick up yours today! 

 

 

 

 

adrian, college, derrick rose, griffin, injuries, mental, peterson, pro, psychology, robert, sports, toughness

  • Author
  • Comments
  • Details
Get to Know the Author

Dr. Chris Stankovich

Dr. Stankovich has written/co-written five books, including Positive Transitions for Student Athletes, The ParentsPlaybook, Mind of Steel.

Latest Blog Posts

  • June 29, 2022 Don’t Discount the Value of Fun, Unstructured Play for Kids Mental Health
  • June 20, 2022 Sports Parents & Coaches Can Use Youth Sports as a Mental Health Boost for Kids
  • June 15, 2022 Show Kids How Much You Care Before You Teach Them What You Know
  • June 14, 2022 Study Finds Team Sports May be Best for Kids & their Mental Health
  • June 8, 2022 Accepting that Life is Difficult is a Healthy 1st Step Toward Life Success

Comments are closed.

PREVIOUS POST

How Perception Impacts Sports Performance

NEXT POST

Youth Sports: More Intense than Ever Before

Category

Amateur , Athletes , Athletic Counseling , Coaching , College , Communicating with Coach , Leadership and Role Modeling , Mental Toughness , Parent Training , Performance Enhancement , Prep , Pro , Pro and College Sports , Psychology of Injury , Sport Philosophy , Sport Psychology , Sport Sociology , Sports Administrators , Sports Culture and Society , Sports Leadership , Sports Media , Sports Parenting , Sports Performance Science , Sports Safety , Training and Development , Uncategorized , Youth and Interscholastic Sports , Youth Sports

Tags

adrian, college, derrick rose, griffin, injuries, mental, peterson, pro, psychology, robert, sports, toughness

  • Recent Posts
  • Most Read
  • Don't Discount the Value of Fun, Unstructured Play for Kids Mental Health
  • Sports Parents & Coaches Can Use Youth Sports as a Mental Health Boost for Kids
  • Show Kids How Much You Care Before You Teach Them What You Know
  • Study Finds Team Sports May be Best for Kids & their Mental Health
  • Accepting that Life is Difficult is a Healthy 1st Step Toward Life Success
  • Overcome the Fear of Failure, Improve Mental Toughness, & Experience Success
  • How Much Impact Does a Coach Have on Sports Team Success?
  • Avoid the Dangers of "Whataboutism" for Better Relationships & Improved Mental Health
  • Help Kids Maximize Youth Sports by Using Athletic Transferable Skills
  • Improve Mental Health by Means of Catharsis & Purging Negative Thoughts
  • The Sports Doc on TV

    Catch Dr. Stankovich’s tv, radio, and print interviews and columns here!

    Dr. Chris Stankovich Watch Videos
  • Sport Performance Assessment

    Dr. Chris Stankovich Quickly and accurately test your level of mental toughness in just a few minutes using the Sport Performance Assessment.

    (SPA), an easy-to-use sport psychology system specially designed to help you REACH YOUR FULL ATHLETIC POTENTIAL.

    learn more
  • SportsSuccess360

    Life strategies for performance and character development for coaches, parents, and student athletes competing in youth and interscholastic sports.

    Life Strategies learn more
  • Contact Dr. Stankovich

    1395 Grandview Avenue Suite 6, Columbus OH 43212

    (614) 561-4482
    Media & General Inquiries
    information@drstankovich.com
    Sales & Product Support
    sales@drstankovich.com
  • About Dr. Stankovich

    • Media
    • Blog
    • Testimonials
  • Products

    • Toolkits
    • Videos
    • Books
    • Audio
    • iPhone Apps
  • Services

    • Athlete Performance Training
    • Parent Community Forum
    • Coach Education & Development
    • Athletic Crisis Response and Intervention
    • Drug & Alcohol Assessment
    • Life Success Programs
    • Counseling & Consulting Services
  • Blog
  • YouTube
  • twitter
  • facebook

All rights reserved © 2022 Advanced Human Performance Systems™

↓ ↓