SPORTS
Dealing With Sport Injury: !"#$%&'()(*+&,)"-,..)/
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When it comes to recovering from a sports injury, most people only acknowledge physical rehabilitation and don’t consider the emotional ramifications and psychological responses that play a role in the road to recovery. Traditionally, sports medicine professionals and physicians have focused the majority of their attention on the physical aspects of injuries, spurring continuous improvements in physiotherapy through developments in training, equipment, and a range of other treatment types. Although these therapy methods are highly beneficial, they only address the physical aspect of the human body.
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For many individuals, injury that prohibits continued athletic participation can cause emotional impacts and a significant impact on their vulnerability and resilience post-injury. These emotional reactions to injury, such as ineffective coping mechanisms and high pressures, can affect how well one may adhere to rehabilitation regimens and their chance of a successful recovery. Despite this, patients are not given enough guidance on when and how to address the psychological consequences of an injury throughout rehabilitation. As a result, athletes often find themselves in positions where they are unable to cope with the physiological stresses following an injury. As a dancer who has dealt with more than 3 consecutive injuries within the span of one year, I can say from experience that dealing with the mental trauma that comes with an injury was a huge obstacle I was not prepared to face, and had to learn to overcome alone throughout the process of recovering. In my experience, I made many mistakes and faced huge setbacks because of false conceptions and a lack of knowledge about how to properly deal with an injury. Here are some key lessons I learnt during my road to recovery - they may seem simple and obvious, but they are things I wish I had been aware of prior to recovery. It all started off with a minor discomfort in my foot. The throbbing and aching pain that started to bother me during training wasn’t enough to worry me. My mindset was: “no pain, no gain.” In order to improve, I had to work hard and train everyday for large amounts of time. In my head, if the pain wasn’t affecting my daily activities, I was fine. Eventually, the pain became unbearable; I finally visited the
1. Posterior Tibial Tendon: A tendon that inserts into the navicular bone. 2. Navicular Bone: A tarsal bone on the medial side of the foot.
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ISSUE 21
XIAO HUA
