“Yup, it’s fractured;” "you have a tear;” "you’re going to need surgery;” "recovery time is about four-six weeks;” "six-eight weeks;" "three months.” What the hell do I do now?
For an athlete, injuries are bound to occur. Regardless of how intensely one strengthens their body, or how gifted they are in the sport; injuries are inevitable. Why is it then that with any injury an athlete endures, it feels like the end of their perfectly meticulously crafted world? It’s because they’re separated from the world they had designed for themselves.
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When one first gets hurt there are immediately a couple of things that go through the athlete’s mind. “Hopefully, it’s not that bad;” "Maybe I can play through it;” "At least I don’t have to do sprints for a while;” "My season is over;” "What if my career is over?” The ambiguity of the first half an hour after leaving the ice, court, field, pool or track is the most restless time for an athlete.
They have no idea what’s going to happen or what the implications are -- unless they have had this happen to them, then they are well aware of what will transpire. When they finally are told what exactly their injury is at least there is some closure but then there is another waiting period of test results, be it MRI's, X-rays, etc.
Then, more thoughts creep into the athlete’s mind. “Maybe it’s not so serious, it didn’t feel that bad;” "What if it is that bad;” "I know someone who had the same pain, maybe it’s like that and not so serious;” "I think this may be serious.”
Unfortunately, the tests came back and it’s bad. Now they have to wear a cast, a sling or have to use crutches. Now the athlete has to go from being very active to someone who can’t use a part of their body in the matter of a few days.
At first, it doesn’t seem so bad; they don’t have to endure the excruciating workouts, or have to be exhausted at all times of the day. It seems doable and then the athlete becomes optimistic that they will be done with their injury in no time. It’s almost the next day where the whole “this won’t be so bad” façade crumbles completely.
They for some reason see the vitality of their body part that is now unable to be used. They want to reach for something with that arm, grip something with that hand, use that other foot to step around something or bend over to pick something their pencil off the ground. Now the athlete thinks that it’s over and that there’s no way they can get better. Not only can they not use their injured body part but it also hurts constantly. The dull ache is the only thing they can think off and it seems to consume their whole body leaving the athlete in a state of depression.
The athlete cannot be themselves, the world that they had built is broken and now living in a world that seems so foreign and unregimented is just unlivable to them. As an athlete, you have a balance in your mind between the sport and everyday life. Now that the sport is gone (temporarily) there’s a huge influx of the everyday life that it’s overwhelming and so unfamiliar that they can’t take it.
They need their sport, it’s almost like a drug and they need their fix. They start watching the sport more, going to the field, rink, track, court or pool to watch their teammates practice and just to be there. Especially unfortunate is the student-athlete. To try and focus on school after having their beloved stripped away from them is improbable.
Not only are they upset they can’t play but their schedule is screwed up that when school work doesn’t coincide as it once had it is unnatural to do it and with the same intensity. Their schoolwork starts to suffer because of it and not only are they upset that they’re hurt but now they have to stress about doing poorly in school. “I can’t do this anymore!”
It’s finally starting to feel better and the athlete feels confident that they can do more. They start to throw the ball around and do other athletic nonsense but after one bad throw or bad step it starts to feel achy.
Oh, no. “This can’t be happening;” "I can’t hurt it again;” "Did I screw it up?” "It’s probably nothing, I just can’t do that again;” "Why did I do that?!” It seemed the athlete had just started to be confident again but now the optimism is gone and the revival of cynicism is here. Fortunately, this worry is discarded after the physical therapist tells them to shut up and that it’s nothing to worry about. Now it’s back to feeling good again.
Finally, the day has come. Time to throw away the crutches, the sling -- when I say "throw away’" I mean literally throw away -- or remove the cast. It’s time for rehab and the athlete couldn’t be more anxious to do something physical again.
Even if it just the simplest task of walking on a treadmill, moving an arm around, or certain stretches, it’s invigorating and now there can be some consistency again. The athlete’s season and or career can be salvaged. However, now the athlete is anxious to finish rehab and new thoughts creep through “Why is this taking so long?” "I feel great there’s no way I don’t finish this early;” "Can I just please use the 5-pound weights and not the 3-pound ones?”
