The patience factor plays a major role. Competitive athletes are used to training several times every day and then delivering them in competition once a week. With an injury, the daily routine suddenly changes when it comes to rehab. Basketball star Till Pape explains: “It is often the case that you become more pessimistic because it is often not possible to go fast enough in rehab. Because you are used to absolute top performance. Setbacks are added.”
Pape, who also studies medicine in addition to his athlete career, admits: “This condition before the injury seems so far away that there are insanely a lot of things going through the head and it is a real struggle for every athlete.” Kleinert explains that a negative thought first had its justification and must both be taken seriously and must be estimated. “Not in the sense of: I don’t want to have it, but it means something,” said the sports psychologist.
Football star Giulia Gwinn also tore the front cruciate ligament in the right knee in 2020 and two years later that in the left knee. “It was a moment when everything was standing, but I was very loud because I knew exactly what it was. I know the feeling, the pain, the shock,” the German international in the documentary “case. Rise. Gwinn.” The moment when it happened. She stated: “Then shoot you a thousand thoughts. The greatest fear is, I think that you have to end your career earlier than you actually planned it.”
Alexander Schmid knows that perseverance is decisive. “It is even more difficult for an injury because the progress is minimal. But it fulfills all the more if you reach a daily or weekly goal during an injury,” said the 31-year-old.
As an example, the silver medalist from Olympia in Beijing 2022 mentions certain movements after its cruciate ligament tear. The 30-year-old worked with a mental trainer. In an interview with T-Online, Schmid explains: “The most important thing is to accept situations. If I have not yet accepted it and I’m not at peace with myself, it’s hard.” However, he was able to accept his injury right from the start. Lisa Mayer also emphasizes in the conversation that she sees and explains “the psyche as a central component”: “I have also been working with a sports psychologist for years and realize that this helps me a lot to work on the level.”