Looking At The Whole Athlete

As an athlete, aches and pains are all too common and unfortunately so are injuries. When athletes come to us, we may first start by asking about your pain, but what is even more important is to develop the whole picture of the athlete. This means that we ask about everything from your favorite hobbies to your sleep hygiene. We do this because these components have a huge impact on how we experience pain, and vice versa, pain has a huge impact on how we experience these components. 

There are a variety of components we look at when it comes to each person. We have a framework called the International Classification of Function, Disability and Health Model or ICF. The components of the ICF include health condition, participation, activities, environment, personal factors and of course, body structures and function. Health condition is the condition of concern such as injury, pain or any health related diagnosis. Participation can be broken down into restrictions participating in work, sports, social activities, and relationships. Activities are limitations in an individual's ability to speak, walk, jump, play, etc. Environment includes the individuals living condition, home and work environment, physical environment/climate, social circle and more. Personal factors can be anything from your age to your personality and can include other diagnoses/co-morbidities including mental health and mindset. And body structures and function means your individual anatomy and physiology.

It is important to look at all of these components as they can all have an influence on your pain and function. If we only looked at pain, we would be missing a whole chunk of who you are because your personal relationships, passions, hobbies, mindset and more can both impact and be impacted by your pain or injury. Practitioners who only focus on your pain are missing a huge chunk of what makes you, you. In the last blog post we talked about mindset while rehabbing pain. It is important to consider other aspects of the mental side of an injury as well, such as how your injury is affecting your personal relationships and interactions with others. For example, if your cortisol is raised due to pain or injury, you may be more irritable in your important personal relationships and they may suffer. This also brings us back to participation. For example, even if you are sitting out from a sport temporarily due to pain, you lose the feeling of being on a team and the support from your teammates. At Conquer Movement, we believe that the social aspect of playing your sport is just as important as your pain or injury, and we can prescribe your rehab in a style that allows you to heal with your team right by your side instead of asking you to step away completely. Considering the social support system from your team can promote faster healing and a more positive mindset throughout the rehabilitation process. 

The other important detail to take from this is that there are so many components that influence pain. It is important to avoid defining yourself by your pain. Instead of thinking “I am an injured person”, try adding other things you are made up of “I am an athlete who is currently rehabbing my injury”, this helps improve our self image. At Conquer Movement, we focus heavily on your self efficacy, which is your belief in your ability to produce the necessary actions in order to attain your desired outcome. Your view of yourself is just as important as the physical rehab process. Below is a diagram that can be helpful for picturing how an injury is more than just an anatomical problem. Focusing on all of these components helps us adjust your individual load to avoid exceeding your capacity. 

If you are injured, consider the other areas of your life that are being affected by your pain. You are a lot more than just your pain. You deserve to fully enjoy and participate in all areas of your life, so the time to act is now! Think about all of the areas of your life that will improve if you remove the factor of pain. Book a call with one of our experts and we will dive into the whole picture of you, and game plan how to get you back to full function!

Dr. Kylie Miller

Performance Physical Therapist

Wilmington, NC

Follow here for more performance tips: @conquermovementpt