Saba Noreen
Department of Social Sciences and Humanities, Riphah International University Faisalabad Campus, Faisalabad, Pakistan
*Corresponding author: newshahzad2001@yahoo.com
Sports medicine plays a pivotal role in enhancing both the physical and mental well-being of athletes. To assess the frequency with which sports medicine physicians address psychological concerns in athletes and to evaluate their attitudes regarding the accessibility and effectiveness of sports psychologists and other mental health resources. The degree to which respondents address psychological concerns with athletes differed by specialization and by the individual issues evaluated. The three predominant injury-related concerns expressed by patient-athletes were apprehensions regarding reinjury, anxieties associated with surgery, and impatience with the healing and rehabilitation process. The three most prevalent non-injury-related problems addressed were stress, anxiety, and burnout. Family practitioners were more inclined to address psychological difficulties associated to injuries compared to orthopaedic surgeons. Orthopaedic surgeons indicated the lowest incidence of addressing non-injury-related psychological concerns. Merely 19% of all respondents reported that there were sufficient sport psychologists and other mental health experts in their region to address the demands of athletes. Seventy-five percent of respondents claimed they infrequently or never referred players to sports psychologists for injury-related concerns, while sixty-six percent reported the same for non-injury-related issues. Participants assessed sport psychologists and sports trainers/physical therapists as moderately effective in addressing athletes' psychological issues. Sports medicine professionals often confront psychological challenges in patient-athletes. There is a necessity for instruments to enhance the evaluation of these issues, along with improved communication between the mental health sector and sports medicine practitioners. Furthermore, the awareness of and availability to practitioners specifically trained to address the unique psychological requirements of athletes should be enhanced.