Yeah for sure, injury changes things. You see rock climbers needing rescue often enough when they could have self-rescued by a pair of Prusiks and ascending the rope. I've heard of a rock climber using an ATC (rappel device) as an ascender, by kicking off the wall and moving the rope up a few inches. They were near complete exhaustion when they got up to the top - Prusiks would have made the job so much easier. Of course a pair of ascenders/Jumars is best, but add some weight.
Most people (outside of cavers) don't plan on climbing up a rope with single rope technique, so it's not something that is practiced very much. I'm not really sure why. I'd be super nervous as a climber if I only could go one way on a rope. I guess alpinists practice it some for self-rescue out of a crevasse.
Cavers use the rope as a nylon highway, so you know how to switch from rappel to climb, climb to rappel, and how to pick-off an injured party from the rope (all of those in space, where you can't take your weight off the rope at all).