Injuries are every athlete's worst nightmare. I have always been an active person. As a child, I was in almost every sport you can think of. Like many people, the older I got the more I narrowed down my focus. I ended up getting involved with equestrian sports, and never looked back from there. In high school, I was training seven days a week and showing almost every weekend. When I wasn't on a horse perfecting my skills, I was working out at the gym. This non-stop stress on my body started to catch up to me in my senior year of high school. I noticed that my back started to ache most days.

Being a naive 17-year-old, I pushed it off, thinking it would resolve itself. I was very wrong.

After months of my back hurting, one day I took a mild fall off a horse. Now, I have fallen off more times than I can count, and most of the time landing in the soft footing doesn't leave more than a small bruise. But, this time was different. Although the fall itself was not bad, something felt off. I had landed on my hip, but my back stung as if someone had just hit me with a sledgehammer.

I woke up the next day, barely able to straighten my right leg. I was in so much pain that even sitting down was miserable. The only relief I got was laying flat on my back. I went to the doctor to get an MRI and discovered I had herniated my L5 disc. He explained our options, none of which sounded appealing to me. Surgery was not something I wanted to do, and the other option was just a lot of rest and therapy. So, I went with the more conservative option.

It has been a long year full of ups and downs. Some days it felt as though my injury consumed my life, but other days I would go hours forgetting about the aches and pains.

But, even on the worst days, I was glad that I didn't have surgery.

There are so many great alternatives, like natural healing methods, out there that are so much less intrusive and can provide better results in the long run. The best supplements for pain relief are natural anti-inflammatory remedies. For my back, I found that taking turmeric and curcumin supplements helped prevent the inflammation flare-ups that would cause the pain. When my back would ache or feel tight, I found that pure CBD oil was a Godsend. There is a lot of stigma about CBD, but this is a natural oil that does not contain THC. Although it can be pricey, getting a good quality brand is worth every penny. Not only did it help the pain, but also helped tight or sore muscles.

On top of taking supplements, stretching and staying active has been huge. Although it seems like movement would have adverse effects, the more I would sit the more my injury would tighten up and become inflamed. Although I was not out there running miles, I made sure I did low impact movements every day. This included walking, swimming, and biking.

Finally, I found one of the most important things you can do or yourself when you are recovering: not letting it consume your life.

Go out and spend time with your friends and family. Go outside, do the things that make you smile. They aren't lying when they say laughter is the best medicine. One of the biggest things I have learned throughout this year of recovery is that injuries do not have to consume your whole life. I was devastated when I found out that my summer before college was going to be spent recovering, but in reality, it did not prevent me from living my life.