Overcoming an Injury
Returning to play even stronger than before
Injuries are commonplace for most athletes regardless of the sport or competition. As strength and conditioning professionals, we prepare the athletes’ bodies for the stresses that will be placed on them during practice and competition. Our goal is always to keep an athlete healthy and available; however, this will never eliminate injuries altogether. Whether it is a strain, sprain, bruise, break, or tear — the injury bug will still bite.
Time tables for an athlete’s return always vary depending on the severity of the injury. And time away from play can be a dark and lonely place for a lot of young athletes. While their teammates are practicing and competing, these athletes are often isolated in the training room or standing on the sideline as a spectator.
Personally, I have been in that position and know how it feels to have months of your athletic career ripped away from you. Shortly into my junior year of high school football, I suffered a season-ending ACL tear. Within 10 days of the injury, I had reconstructive surgery and that was it — my season was over. I spent the first-week post-op crutching around at practice and feeling sorry for myself. It was not until coach Ryan McCurley came up and put his arm around me and reminded me that baseball season was 5 months away, that I snapped out of self-pity and refocused my attitude on new goals. With a fresh mindset and new direction, I went to work and was back on the mound competing that Spring.
(E)vent + (R)esponse = (O)utcome
Adversity will hit each and every one of us. We tell our athletes that it is not a matter of ‘IF’ but ‘WHEN’. And the determining factor of the outcome will always be the way we respond. When an injury occurs, reset and refocus. Discuss with your physician, athletic trainer, strength coach, etc. what the time table is for return to play. Then attack your rehab and treatment.
DO NOT be the athlete that misses treatment because that shows everyone you are okay with not playing/competing. Be the first person in the door with the attitude that you will do whatever it takes to get back. This shows you, your coaches, and your teammates that you are committed to the team and still involved.
One of the most important aspects of overcoming an injury — continue to train! Many athletes disappear from the weight room once an injury occurs and while there are some injuries that could prevent you from participating in any training; MOST injuries will allow you to train three functioning limbs. (ex — sprained ankle or broken wrist) Staying consistent with your training has a multitude of benefits both physically and mentally.
Physically, we can modify nearly every exercise that an athlete would be asked to perform. Single-arm, single-leg, bands, body weight, isometric holds… the list goes on. The key here is open communication between the athlete and coach. Allow us to work with you through the injury and in some cases we can address the root of the problem where the injury occurred. If you are out for three weeks and do not continue to train during that time, two things will occur:
- Your injury may be healed, but your body is no longer in shape to play and performance will suffer.
Which leads to number 2!
2. With your body not in shape, odds of re-injury and NEW injury dramatically increase.
Moral of the story, consistency always wins!
Mentally, continuing to train keeps your mind focused on new goals. It is a great way to relieve stress and that isolated feeling that occurs after missing time from the injury. You are still working, you are still involved, you are still contributing to your team. It means more to your coaches and teammates than you may think. Look at it this way, things just got harder. This is a setback and no time for a mini-vacation. There is work to be done and with the right mindset returning to play can be a much smoother transition that keeps you on the field/court instead of back in the training room.
Drew Brees recently suffered an injury to his thumb that required surgery and a 6-8 week timetable for returning to play. After surgery, he returned to the team and was on the field participating in his usual pregame routine as if he was still starting against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. On the sidelines, you could see him mentally taking reps, reading the coverage, and assisting his replacement Teddy Bridgewater between series. Those are the actions of an athlete that wants to be GREAT and back with his team ready to play physically and mentally when he is cleared.
Make sure that while you are tweeting and talking about how great you are or want to be, that you are matching it with your actions and work ethic — injured or not.
Adversity will hit all of us so when the injury bug bites, reset and refocus. Create some new goals and then go on the attack with a plan that works with your injury, not against it.
