Abstract
GNYACSM Original Research
Mind Over Injury: Mental Imagery for Recovery
MARIA ANGELINA BUDELMAN, JEFF CHERUBINI Alumni Hall; Kinesiology; Manhattan University; Bronx, New York
Category: Undergraduate
Advisor / Mentor: Cherubini, Jeff (jeff.cherubini@manhattan.edu)
ABSTRACT According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), approximately five million injuries occur annually among collegiate athletes, many of which are associated with increased risks of negative mental health outcomes. As participation in collegiate athletics continues to grow, likely, both physical and psychological demands on athletes will also increase. Mental imagery (MI), the intentional practice of visualizing movements through the mind’s cognitive, emotional, and sensory processes, has been proposed as a useful strategy to support recovery during injury rehabilitation. PURPOSE: This study aimed to identify patterns in how injured collegiate athletes apply MI techniques to maintain motivation, improve cognitive function, promote healing, and manage pain perception. METHODS: Using the Athletic Injury Imagery Questionnaire-3(AIIQ-3), 133 collegiate athletes from Manhattan University and other institutions who had previously experienced a sports-related injury completed an online survey via Google Forms. Participants ranged in age from 18–23 years. The sample included 62% female (n=82) and 38% male (n=51) athletes. The AIIQ-3 consists of 16 items representing four types of MI: motivation, cognitive, healing, and pain management. Participants rated their imagery use on a 9-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 9 (always), indicating how frequently they used specific mental imagery techniques during rehabilitation. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze group differences across gender and sport. RESULTS: Motivational imagery was reported as the most frequently used type (M = 6.75), followed by pain management (M = 6.00), healing (M = 5.52), and cognitive imagery (M = 5.21). A significant gender difference (p < .05) was observed in cognitive imagery use, with males reporting higher use (M = 5.65) than females (M = 4.88). Across sports by gender, Men’s Basketball reported the highest overall MI use for male athletes (M = 7.40) and Women’s Soccer reported the highest overall MI use for female athletes (M=6.09). Conversely, Women's Lacrosse reported the lowest overall MI use for female athletes(M = 3.80) and Men’s Crew/Rowing reported the lowest overall MI use for male athletes(M=3.95). Although all athletes in this study had indicated experiencing an athletic injury, less than half of the participants (46%) reported being prompted to use MI during rehabilitation. When encouraged to use MI, athletes indicated being prompted by athletic trainers, physical therapists, or parents/guardians. CONCLUSION: Findings indicate that although MI is an effective and versatile rehabilitation tool, it may be underutilized in practice. Incorporating guided MI instruction into rehabilitation programs may improve both physical and psychological recovery outcomes. This study sample was primarily drawn from one university, and thus, the results should be interpreted with that in mind. Future research should explore sport-specific and gender-related differences in MI use and develop and test the efficacy of structured interventions to help athletes and rehabilitation professionals integrate MI more consistently into recovery practices.
Recommended Citation
Budelman, Maria Angelina and Cherubini, Jeff
(2025)
"Mind Over Injury: Exploring Mental Imagery as a Game Changer in Athlete Rehabilitation,"
International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 15:
Iss.
7, Article 34.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol15/iss7/34