Written by: Marina Matveyeva
Edited by: Jayden Wang
As surgeon at Boston Children’s Hospital Melissa Christino puts it, no one plays sports to get injured, but injuries are a part of sports. An injury can take a lot of what is enjoyable for an athlete out of their lives depending on its severity and the athlete as it can take an athlete completely out of their sport. Compared to athletes with no musculoskeletal injuries–any injuries to their muscles, bones, or joints– athletes who did have such injuries were more likely to score higher for depressive symptoms (Marconcin et al., 2023; “Musculoskeletal”). According to several studies, college athletes have a depression rate of between 15.6-21% (Daley et al., 2021) While there is some data that states that college students have lower depression rates than compared to regular students, a study of 257 Division I athletes discovered that the rates between college students overall and those Division I athletes to be almost equal (Daley et al., 2021). Another study found that women athletes were 1.8 times more likely to have depressive symptoms compared to athletes who were men (Marconcin et al., 2023).
Following an injury, depression is one of the most common symptoms (Daley et al., 2021). Behaviors can include hopelessness, irritability, substance use, and weight loss (Daley et al., 2021). Joanne Barker, a writer for Boston Children’s Hospital and former student athlete, acknowledges that it can be devastating for an athlete to be forced to withdraw from their sport–it’s an integral part of their lives (Barker, 2021).
But it isn’t impossible for individuals with post-injury depression to alleviate some of their symptoms. A study of college student-athletes from two top U.S. colleges from the 2007 to 2012 sport seasons showed that those who endured an injury had less post-injury depression and anxiety scores when they had a higher quantity of social support from friends and family (Sullivan et al.). In short, those who were satisfied with their emotional support had less depressive symptoms. Even when compared to support from a team, social support from an injured athlete’s family and friends had a more significant impact. While an injury could prompt mental health issues, having a support group and not going through their injury alone can be key to helping an athlete.
In addition, following a cohort design study of 275 randomly selected injured adults, researchers found that patients could have significantly lower quality of life an entire year after their injury (Richmond et al., 2013). They suggested that preventative measures should be taken before the patient leaves the hospital–nurses should guide patients in their healing journey and anticipate their patients may feel depressed (Richmond et al., 2013). In short, there needs to be more emphasis on the psychological side of an injury during an injured person’s healing journey, not just the healing process of their body.
References
Barker, J. (2021, September 9). Not just a physical thing: The psychology of sports injuries and Recovery. Boston Children’s Answers. https://answers.childrenshospital.org/psychology-sports-injury-recovery/
Daley, M. M., Griffith, K., Milewski, M. D., & Christino, M. A. (2021, June 15). The mental side of the injured athlete : Jaaos - Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Journal of AAOS. https://journals.lww.com/jaaos/fulltext/2021/06150/the_mental_side_of_the_injured_athlete.1.aspx
Marconcin, P., Silva, A. L., Flôres, F., Nunes, A., Lourenço, J. F., Peralta, M., & Minghelli, B. (2023, June 15). Association between musculoskeletal injuries and depressive symptoms among athletes: A systematic review. PubMed Central. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10298004/
Richmond, T. S., Guo, W., Ackerson, T., Hollander, J., Gracias, V., Robinson, K., & Amsterdam, J. (2013, December 19). The Effect of Postinjury Depression on Quality of Life following Minor Injury. Sigma. https://sigmapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jnu.12064?casa_token=LhnWpKoofh0AAAAA%3AWBYEg4nGh4gcR771Jj_gRscDR_k07tzohB-qfdXyAKVwzDhc9Ps89sJJAODVEzPJz-J77KQGxVwWWSIL
Sullivan, L., Ding, K., Tattersall, H., & Yang, J. (2021, April 9). 176 Source of social support and post-injury depression and anxiety among college student-athletes. BMJ Journals. https://injuryprevention-bmj-com.proxy.library.stonybrook.edu/content/26/Suppl_1/A29.1
World Health Organization. (2022, July 14). Musculoskeletal health. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/musculoskeletal-conditions
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