In sports, injuries are common. Football players take blows to the head and receive concussions in return, skiers get their ACLs torn, and soccer players are given fractures and other injuries. Even in our everyday life, we are susceptible to getting hurt.
In mid-October, I sprained my ankle simply tripping on an inconveniently placed curb at the end of my sidewalk. The girls’ tennis season was coming to a close and I couldn’t play in the last few matches. Even though the injury hadn’t happened while I was playing tennis, it affected everything – from being able to walk without pain to playing tennis the way I used to. It took around four months of physical therapy and taking it easy to get back to where I used to be.
Sports players of all kinds suffer from injuries that go far beyond the physical aspect. These injuries also deeply affect the mental state of a player. A loss of identity and frustration overwhelmed me when I sprained my ankle, limiting my mental capacity and state of mind. I became more depressed because of lack of exercise and I was afraid that everyone was pulling ahead and improving their tennis while I was stuck with a bum ankle.
I started playing tennis again after a month and the pain was still lingering. I kept working on strengthening my ankle, and eventually, I was playing during a private lesson in February and it was the first time that I had not felt any pain since spraining my ankle. I was rallying with my coach and he hit a fast-paced ball to my left side, so I went to take an open-stance forehand. As soon as my previously injured foot made contact with the ground, it snapped outward and I recoiled, leaning on my racket for support. I still remember my exact thoughts at that moment. I had just ruined all of my progress and now I had to start all over again.
Luckily, I did not resprain it and it was only a tweak, so within a week I had bounced back to the place that it took me two months to get to the first time I sprained it. I am still experiencing pain and have yet to start playing again, but this journey of obstacles made me think.
Sports players all over the world hurt themselves and suffer through mental frustration and physical pain that no one can relate to but other injured athletes. Friends have sympathy but don’t think twice about it and so these athletes are left in the abyss of hopelessness and the feeling that they will never get back to the way they were. They cannot play the sport they love and the injury affects how they do everyday things. Sports injuries impact athletes and they often prevent the improvement and progress of players’ sports careers.