What Runners Need to Know (by Joel Lyons

By Joel Lyons, PT, OCS

Emotions and Injuries

This topic is not an easy one and not one that I feel particularly adept at helping you with, but it is an issue that I deal with on almost a daily basis. I’m referring to the mental and emotional challenges that go along with injuries. These can range from a minor inconvenience by some to full-on clinical depression by others. It is not something to take lightly or by any means brush off when someone might be confiding in you about how their injury is affecting them.

Many people, athletes included, and runners especially, can go through the five stages of grief when faced with an injury that sets them back for more than a couple of days. If you aren’t familiar with these stages, I’ll give you a brief synopsis of them. They were first introduced by a famous Swiss-American psychiatrist, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in her 1969 book On Death and Dying. The stages begin with denial, and are followed by anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Although she first sought to explain how people coped with illness and dying, it soon appeared to be applicable to how many people react to other traumatic experiences.

In stage 1, denial, the person feels that there must have been some mistake. There must have been some misdiagnosis. The person prefers to cling to some alternate reality.

In stage 2, anger, the person recognizes that denial is a fallacy. He begins feeling like someone or some thing has done him wrong. He is upset with the situation he’s in and often lashes out at those around him.

With bargaining, stage 3, this person starts negotiating with a higher power in an attempt to avoid the cause of the grief. He might say “if I can just get over this injury, I’ll never overtrain again.” This is then followed by stage 4, depression. The person gets sullen and despairs at the recognition of his injury. He becomes withdrawn, silent, and avoids many interactions.

Finally, stage 5, is acceptance. The person recognizes the depth of the problem and that he can deal with it. He finds ways to move ahead. He puts a healthier perspective on the injury.

Not everyone may go through each of these steps exactly as described here; however, I think it is apparent to many that these are very common emotions associated with an episode that a person believes is traumatic. One might ask how this information might be useful. Again, I don’t claim to be anything close to an expert in this field, but I believe if you recognize some of these emotions that a friend or relative is displaying, you might be sympathetic to them. Being there for them is one of the best things you can do. Many experts say, don’t try to rush them through these stages in order to get to acceptance that much quicker. Let them share their frustrations.