During my freshman year of high school, I dislocated my shoulder and tore through my labrum ligament during summer training. This was the first serious injury that I faced in my athletic career. I took the necessary steps to heal such as physical therapy and rest, and I was back on the field in a couple of weeks. A week or so after returning, I dislocated again which resulted in an even bigger tear of my labrum that called for surgery and an end to my lacrosse season. Six months later when I thought I was fully recovered, I tore through my labrum for the third time. This injury resulted in an intensive surgery that left me with little flexibility in my shoulder, impacting my ability to play lacrosse the same way I did before. At this point, I had two shoulder surgeries, hundreds of physical therapy hours, countless tears, and a handful of mental toughness books down, when I finally was cleared to return to play. I stepped on the field a few weeks later anxious, yet excited to return and when the whistle blew, all my fears went away. I did not play scared or timid, instead, I played free and thankful for the opportunity I had to play the sport I loved again. I recovered from my injuries with a positive mindset and felt more motivated than ever. That was until there were six minutes left in the game and my team was down by one. I remember running full speed redefending to get the ball back when I was tripped from behind and sent flying. I reached with my right arm to catch my fall, protecting my left shoulder, and the next thing I knew I was in the ambulance getting rushed to the emergency room with another shoulder dislocation.
I don’t tell these stories for sympathy. Instead, I tell them to show that we can go through all of the negative emotions, feelings, and obstacles that are associated with injury, and come out as better athletes and more resilient people because of them.
We all know that injuries suck, they are a fairly uncontrollable phenomena that prevent us from executing at our highest level and they can deter us from reaching our ultimate goals on our original intended timeline. What is not universally known and celebrated is the fact that injuries can also benefit us. What I realized during my third and fourth shoulder injuries was that as an athlete, I spent an immense amount of time working on my physical performance, but very little time working on my mental game. My injuries served as an opportunity for me to take a step back, evaluate where I was in my life, sport, career, etc. and pinpoint the things that I wanted and had the power to improve. There are multiple skills that I used to help turn my injury and recovery process into a positive experience, but here are the five that stood out to me the most:
1. Treat recovery as your sport:
Think about the time and energy you put into your sport. The extra reps you put in, the runs, the lifts, the game film hours, all of it is so that you can do everything in your power and control to make yourself the best athlete at your spot possible. Take that same energy and put it into your recovery. Be competitive with yourself and push to get better every recovery session and day. Do your exercises and get extra stretching and PT in when you can. Show up to therapy on time as you would for practice and be present during each session. Treat your therapist as you would your coach and go in with a mindset of getting better every single day.
2. Set goals for your recovery process:
Just like you set performance and process goals for your sport, set these goals for your recovery process too. Using S.M.A.R.T goals (specific, measurable, attainable, reasonable, Timely) can help you actualize steps in your recovery process and keep you on track and organized. Also, recovery goals can help to bring out the competitive and driven athlete inside of you without even playing your sport. Goals can also increase your confidence upon achievement as you realize the progress you continue to make.
3. Do what makes you happy:
Many times, our athletic careers take up a large chunk of our lives and many of us prefer it this way, me being one of those people. That being said, try to take the time to branch out and find new avenues of happiness when injured. If we cannot play our sport, other activities out there can bring us happiness. This could be spending more time with family, reading more books, going on walks, going to the beach, hanging out with friends, etc. Yes, recovery is important, but it is also important that we acknowledge that we are more than an athlete.
When going through the recovery process, use positive self-talk, and affirmations, and have an optimistic attitude. It is easy to get trapped in negative self-talk and self-pity when we are injured. There are some points in the recovery process that may even make us feel hopeless, but we can reframe these thoughts into more positive ideas with a growth mindset. Instead of saying things like “This is too hard, I am so weak. I am never going to get better.” We can reframe the thought to “Wow, this exercise is hard, but if I keep working by next week it is going to feel so amazing when I hit 10 reps.” Along with reframing our ideas, we can use daily affirmations. Wake up every morning and tell yourself you are strong, you are powerful, you are going to have a great day, etc. It is important to talk and support yourself as you would support your best friend.
5. Celebrate the small wins:
Lastly, celebrate the small wins. Create a sticker chart with small goals and give yourself a prize every time you reach a small goal. This helps with encouraging the process of recovery instead of the end goal of getting back onto the field. When we celebrate small wins we build confidence for when the larger next steps come up. That first hand-over-head stretch or step without crutches is just as important as your first goal or takeaway after returning from injury. Validate yourself and get excited about the process.
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