If you’re reading this right now, you’ve most likely incurred some type of injury throughout the course of your life, whether it was a broken leg or a sprained finger, and chances are you recovered 100% from that injury. Although, for others that’s far from the case. For some professional athletes, one injury can hold them back and change the entire rest of their career. Never being able to reach their full potential and capabilities as they once did.

A prime example of this is Chicago-bred basketball star Derrick Rose. Rose was awarded as the youngest MVP in NBA history at 22 years old in the 2010-11 season and is a 3x all-star. Tragedy struck during a playoff game in 2012 when he tore his ACL. Rose would then miss the entire 2012-13 season due to his injury, and has failed to make a single all-star team since. He was projected to be one of the greatest point guards of his generation, but countless injuries held him back from returning to his old self.

What most people don’t understand is that the recovery process from a big injury is long and tedious. Going back to torn ACL’s as quoted by VeryWellHealth, “Most orthopedic physicians agree that a minimum of 6 months is needed before returning to competitive sports from a torn ligament because of potential risks of reinjury, however, most recommend waiting 7 to 9 months.” Senior soccer player, defenseman/midfielder, Drew Berwanger tore his a couple years back his Sophomore year in a conference matchup against Lakes and was out all the way up until the start of his Junior season. “For roughly 9 months, I would have to go to physical therapy twice a week for 2 hours, and everyday I had to do exercises at home to keep it strong”, quotes Drew.

Along with the exercises and therapy that’s needed to recover, comes the haunting reality of not being able to compete in the sport you love. Having to watch your teammates have a great time on the court/field but not being able to experience that enjoyment with them, and even in some cases knowing that your team could use you, but there’s just nothing you can do except sit and cheer.

Drew touches on this topic as well, “It was terrible because I knew I could help the team and improve our quality of play, and unfortunately I was unable to do so for a long time, but it was relieving once I was finally cleared to play the following summer.”

Although, if you’re setback a couple weeks from a minor injury, don’t stress, it’s a lot more common than you may think. Students at GCHS who experience pain or are recovering from a recent injury go into to the Athletic Trainer’s office during their study hall all the time. “An average of probably 25 to 30 kids come in kind of on a daily basis…It ranges from someone who just needs a band aid to people with an injury that need some rehabilitation”, says Athletic Trainer, Mark Robson.

Robson has seen his share of gruesome injuries throughout his 31 years as a certified trainer, from deformed fractures to broken bones. The worst injury coming from a Round Lake quarterback who tragically passed away during a game at Grant back in 2001. He was extremely sick the week leading up to the game and was suggested not to play by his doctor in order to rest, but proceeded to do so anyways.

Early on during the game, he was sacked by a Grant lineman, landed right on the nose of ball and went straight into his stomach. He walked off the field with no problem, but shortly after passed out and was rushed to the hospital. He was pronounced dead a few hours later because of an undiagnosed case of Mononucleosis (Mono). It was Robson’s first year at Grant and he was right on the scene to experience it all.

He goes into further detail about the situation, “When he landed on the ball it severely injured his abdomen, which caused internal bleeding because his spleen was larger than normal and unfortunately ended up passing away.”
With this tragic story, you should always listen to your body, especially if your doctor says so and to know where to draw the line as far as pushing your body goes.

So the next time that you incur any type of injury in the future, having to recover may not be the most fun experience of your life but just have a keep in my mind that with the correct rehabilitation protocol you have the ability to come back just as strong if not stronger than you were before.