Many athletes struggle to competitively return to their sport after an injury. The physical injury may have healed and yet the fear of re-injury can hold them back from achieving their potential. Logosynthesis can offer immediate relief.
Hannah fractured a bone in her knee in a non-sports related incident. Although the bone, the muscle was weak from wearing a brace for weeks. She was scared that her knee would pop when she put weight on it.
I asked if she was physically cleared to return to her sport. She was. She was told not to think about hurting it again but that she needed to wear a knee brace. The situation was distressing and affecting her performance.
I asked if she was physically cleared to return to her sport. She was told not to think about hurting it again but she needed to wear a knee brace.
When she connected with the thoughts, emotions and physical sensations, she rated the level of distress as a 9. (Using a subjective scale from 0-10, with 0 being no distress and 10 being maximum distress). I asked her to connect with any images, sounds or other sensory perceptions in her personal space. She had an image of the stadium where she competed. The coach was very near. The fans were on the benches and the other athletes were nearby. She was in position to compete. I asked her to repeat the Logosynthesis sentences aloud after me, using ‘this image of the stadium and everything it represents’ as the label.
After the sentences, I asked her to notice what happens. She felt relief. She didn’t feel the pain as much. She was more relaxed. ‘I’ll be ok’. She rated the distress as a 5. I asked her to describe this level of distress. She was no longer scared of trying to compete but she was still scared of what might happen. We explored what was the worst thing that could happen. She wouldn’t be able to compete. She would lose. She would have to hang up her shoes. And then, she identified that she would have to start the whole rehab over again. She was sad and frustrated. The distress was now at a 10.
She connected with an image. In this case, it was an actual physical championship water bottle that was in front of her. We used this as the label for the sentences. At the end of the processing, I asked her what she noticed. ‘Happiness! I know it is possible to go to the championship again and relive the moments. It’s not the end!’ The distress was now at a 3.
I asked her to describe the distress related to the 3. It was fear of the pain. I asked her to connect with the physical pain. I offered her the sentences using ‘this pain and everything it represents’ as the label. At the end of the processing, she was calm and relaxed. She wasn’t in contact with the pain. ‘I need to build up the strength that I lost and wear my brace.’ She did not expect the season to be easy. She knew what she had to do and she was prepared to do it.