Sprinting across the field, the goal is in sight and the black and white ball is on its way. There are only 30 seconds left on the clock and the game is tied 2-2. The opposing team’s defense is approaching, hunting the ball down. But she wants it more. Reaching the penalty box, she goes for the ball as her opponent slides into her, turning what could’ve been a victory into a burst of hot pain scalding her leg. From the looks of it, she won’t play until next season.
The world of sports injuries is all about comebacks, and while physically repairing what’s been lost is crucial to playing again, the mental side of being on the sidelines is significant.
Matt Loyd, athletic trainer at 417 Sports Evolution in Springfield, works to help people through physical therapy and helps train people to prevent injuries from happening.
“We do everything from assessing how someone moves, to rehabbing a fresh surgery to on-field evaluations after you get hurt on the soccer field or basketball court,” Loyd said. “In my profession, we are there to be the first line of defense for any injury occurring in the sport that’s being played.”
When someone is sent to the clinic, there are steps for them and their medical team to complete before the start of building themselves back up.
“There are clinical priorities that we make sure we check off the list, but we need to get people moving fast and we need to work on strength even on day one after an injury,” Loyd said. “A lot of people think we need to be easy and rest, but no – really good research supports that we should rest hardly at all. We should get moving fairly quickly and safely and start to load and strengthen that joint or tissue around the affected area as soon as we can after an injury happens.”
NHS Senior soccer player Isabella Johnson was taken out of her sport last season after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament.
“The most significant [injury] happened last year in May against Lee’s Summit North during the second overtime,” Johnson said. “I did a step over and tore my [anterior cruciate ligament], and I’m just now coming back. When I was injured, I knew I was going to miss my club season – which was the last club season I’d ever play – so that was very hard on me. But I knew that if I did not play club and I stuck to the regimen in [physical therapy], I could come back for high school and that’s what I focused on.”
For athletes, taking time to repair injuries before getting back in the game is essential to being able to compete in the future. Yet making the decision to follow through with a rehab program can be disheartening.
“It’s their choice whether they get held out or not, but we still recommend based on what we see on the table that they should be held out,” Loyd said. “Sometimes that can be very hard, especially when that’s what they’re good at. So having a support system around and a lot of encouragement [is important], but at the same time setting realistic goals, and when they come in making sure they know that it’s going to take four to six weeks no matter what we do, because when we’re treating injuries. Physiologically, we cannot speed up that healing time.”
Being cleared to play can be liberating, but the mental side of returning to play can be paved with roadblocks.
“Honestly, the hardest part [of recovery] is coming back to play,” Johnson said. “The process of physical therapy can suck but it’s not nearly as hard as coming back and seeing what kind of player you are now, because all you want to do is compare yourself to how you used to be, especially with an ACL tear because it’s a career-ending injury for many people. Stepping back on the field physically felt disgusting. Your body feels slow and your mind feels slow; … you just can’t do what you want to do. It’s a very internal battle … you want more from yourself, but physically you’re not there yet.”
Negative thoughts can be difficult to navigate during those first games back, but having supporters there can make fears easier to overcome.
“I remember thinking, the first tackle I go into I am going to throw up, but I didn’t,” Johnson said. “With small baby steps, I made it through my first game, and it wasn’t what I wanted but I had all my coaches and teammates right there with me telling me that I was going to get back, and then the next game I played way better.”
When coming back to play, athletes may have to make a new game plan to succeed. Being adaptable is important for physical recovery, but also for getting better at one’s sport.
“As cliche as it is, you just keep pushing and keep playing, but more so I take a second to breathe,” Johnson said. “My biggest struggle is I’m not as fast as I used to be, so knowing that, I instead take a mental approach to figure out what space I can put myself in so that I don’t have to run because I can’t get there in time. It’s finding new avenues and things that your body can handle. For example, I had to switch positions completely this year, … so my goal is to learn how to be the best I can be at that spot.”
Working with teenagers who are unable to pursue their passion may require providers to fill different roles than what’s expected.
“When you get an injury and it takes you out of your sport, it sucks,” Loyd said. “A lot of times athletes find their identity in their sport, which isn’t necessarily correct because they’re human before they’re basketball players. But having a support system around you … is important. Oftentimes in the position I’m in I find myself playing that role as a patient’s support system.”
NHS psychology and sociology teacher Jessica Durham said recovering from a sports injury comes with grief.
“ I would say [with] sports injuries … athletes go through a very similar process as grieving a loved one; they go through denial, anger, acceptance…,” Durham said. “I think people could be a bit more understanding [by] recognizing that it is a physical injury but it’s also very much a mental injury as well. I think a bit more understanding from the public, even teachers when working with those injured student-athletes, would go a very long way.”
Sometimes, rehab is not what a patient needs that day, and people like Loyd are trained to recognize and account for that.
“Last week, I had a patient come in and we just talked for an hour, [which] that helped her more than any training I could have done for the day,” Loyd said. “From a movement standpoint, from a poking-on-muscles-that-are-tight standpoint, just talking helped her a lot more. As an AT you’re going to have a lot of roles, and that’s why you do what you do — you’re there for the person, you’re here to serve people, athletes — it doesn’t matter what age they are. Talking days are needed sometimes. I’m not a psychologist but I play one a lot.”
Durham advises students in all stages of recovery, and advocates for them to seek medical advice, but to also be confident in their capabilities.
“My realistic advice to those recovering would be to figure out a way to do physical therapy because even if you are an athlete and you have been working out and you feel that you know the exercises to get yourself back, you should just trust someone who’s actually studied rehab and made it their living,” Durham said.
She said it’s important to acknowledge and accept limitations during recovery.
“I’ve seen a lot of people try to push through that recovery process too fast and that’s where you end up with multiple injuries or re-injuring the same thing,” she said. “The more human advice I would give is that your body is incredible — trust it — and that this is just a small phase of your life. Oftentimes, especially after injuries, if you do it correctly you will learn more about your body, be more bodily-aware to prevent more injuries in the future and you may come back even stronger than before.”