Psychological risk factors and sports injuries

Injuries sustained during competitive sport activities are accepted as an inherent part of the game. While it may be true that the associated risk of participating in certain sports increases the chance of becoming hurt, it is safe to assume many injuries can be avoided if preventive medicine is practiced. Conditioning and strength training go a long way in protecting the athlete from possible harm, but in some cases this is not enough. The accumulated effect of psychological stressors (in and outside the athletic world) may cloud the mental functioning of the athlete and override physical conditioning enough to precipitate injury or prolong it. After extensive reviews of literature, it has been determined that a collective researched list of psychological risk factors can be recognized which may predispose an athlete (especially in a contact sport) to injury (real or imagined).