Rehabilitation of the amateur athlete.

A prompt, effective and comprehensive rehabilitation program may often be just as important to the injured amateur athlete as it is to the élite or professional one. By focusing on three representative case files, this author will attempt to give a broader perspective of the psychological and social, as well as the physical, role that sports participation plays in the lives of many of today's athlete patients.Only through our understanding of this phenomenon can we effectively deal with the potentially profound and wide-ranging adverse effects that an injury may have on these patients.