Enduring Injury as an Athlete
A photo from my junior year playing soccer in college
Getting an injury is the last thing anyone wants. I was involved in many different sports growing up, trying basketball, softball, tennis, golf, cross country, track and field, until I eventually settled on soccer as my passion. I played competitively all through my childhood and ended up playing collegiately for 4 years. Because of these experiences, I know what it’s like to get injured. I’ve broken bones, sprained my ankle countless times, torn my rotator cuff, and strained and torn muscles.
Getting injured during my college soccer career always felt like the end of the world. Missing practice and - god forbid! - missing games would make me feel extremely frustrated and sad. I would always do everything I could to heal myself: taking supplements, medications, eating certain foods, and doing all my physical therapy exercises. Looking back, I was never injured for longer than two weeks, but for my 18-22 year-old self, it felt like forever.
This past year has challenged me more than ever because I had a snowboarding injury that may or may not result in shoulder surgery. While recovering I decided to train for a marathon because hey, you don’t need your arms for running, right? But now I am experiencing a minor knee injury that has also derailed my marathon training. It makes me feel helpless and wondering, when will it end? Will I ever be healthy and healed again?
Being injured countless times does not lessen the blow of the injury. I thought that all of my experiences getting hurt might better prepare me for how to endure them, but each time I have one it just feels more frustrating than the last. It can be hard to feel okay with an injury when being athletic and trying new sports can be so closely tied to your identity, so injuring yourself can feel like a failure.
This is your reminder that it is only a minor setback for a major comeback and everything is temporary. Try to remain in the present moment. I always think back to Eckhart Tolle’s book The Power of Now, where he asks: is anything actually wrong right now in this moment? Is your life threatened? Are you in danger? Are you breathing? Hopefully, those answers for you are a resounding no, no, and a yes. Take your injury moment by moment, and try to remain present. A lesson I have learned is that looking forward and worrying about all the things you will miss with your injury will just cause very unnecessary stress and anxiety. Think about what you can control. Can you take care of your body by eating right, hydrating, and sleeping well? Can you follow any physical therapy exercises that can help to strengthen and heal? There is nothing that can be done aside from taking care of your body and your health here and now through rest, gentle movements, and guidance from your doctor or physical therapist.
Healing injuries takes time. It’s not a straight path. It’s full of twists and turns; one day you might feel better and the next you might wake up with unexpected soreness. Injury is simply your body telling you that you need to slow down and rest. Listen to your body and intuition and let it help assist you and guide you to healing! There will always be another race, another sport, another time to return to play again when you are fully healed.
Happy healing!