Abbie Dymond, Sports Editor
@abbiedcourant
In the fourth quarter of a tight basketball game against Staples in January, Sophomore Griffin Bramwit leapt to pass the ball and landed awkwardly. On the sideline, his ankle swelled to a red color, and it looked like he would be out for at least a few weeks.
By following the plan set up by the athletic trainers and taking additional steps of his own, Griffin ended up missing only one game and returned to the court the next week.
Approaching recovery with a similar mindset and determination as Griffin will serve an athlete well. Griffin was able to shorten his recovery not only because of the steps he took after his injury but also because of the strength training he did before his season.
Sports-related injuries can be caused by multiple things; not stretching, not fueling your body, or simply not being ready for your season. Athletic trainer Shayna DeLuca said, “The majority of the time, it is either a mobility problem or not being prepared for your season.” As a result of not being prepared for your season, some student-athletes will sustain a soft tissue muscle, which is a muscle pull or strain.
An easy way to solve this problem and prevent it from recurring is to do functional training during the offseason. “Whether that is adding in exercises with rotation, or if you are a baseball player, adding in more overhead movement. Tailoring your strength to your sport definitely helps prevent injuries,” Ms. DeLuca said.
Griffin sustained a third-degree sprain while in that game against Staples. After taking adequate steps, Griffin was able to make a fast recovery compared to the severity of the injury. “I immediately iced and elevated it [the night he got injured], and I also did physical therapy,”.Griffin said. On top of physical therapy, Griffin was doing band exercises at home.
Upon reflecting on his injury, Griffin stated that if he had done functional training, he would have had a lower chance of being injured. “I probably could have done strengthening exercises. I sprained the same ankle in the fall, so I could have strengthened it more,” Griffin said.
Doing recovery exercises outside of physical therapy has proven to be a prominent aspect of making a full recovery. A student who suffered an injury and took similar steps to Griffin is now experiencing beneficial results. “They did everything that they could, and they were following all the right steps,” Ms. DeLuca said. “In addition to that, they were coming in here and having me do stretches with them, and now they are having a completely different season, and I have seen such a difference in their mobility and the laxity of their muscles. We are having next to no issues compared to not even being able to complete a season in the fall.”
Along with functional training, one of the most important things athletes can do to take care of their bodies is stretch, not only before an event. Ms. DeLuca noted that one of the most frequent mistakes student-athletes make that leads to injuries is not stretching afterward. “Before your workouts or practices, you want a dynamic warm-up with movement,” Ms. DeLuca said. “Post-workout or post-practice, you want to make sure that you’re getting in those static stretches.”
As a result of not stretching post-workout or practice, the athletic trainers see a lot of injuries that could have been prevented by stretching after as well. “People do not realize the importance of stretching as well as before, so that is the key,” Ms. DeLuca said.
Evidently, it is also essential to get a thorough warm-up in. “You need to stretch, you need to warm up, you need to drink, you need to fuel yourself; it is all those necessities that are going to set you up to either succeed or not do too well,” Junior field hockey player and track runner Shawna Ferraro said.
Shawna used to push through her pain and not listen to her body, which almost resulted in surgery. “[Pushing through my pain] resulted in me having stress fractures which put me out for months, and I almost had to have surgery because of how many times I had a stress fracture (which occurs from repeated stress to the bone),” Shawna said.
According to Ms. DeLuca, if an athlete is in pain, they should take time off to recover, not push through it. “Whether you guys realize it or not, you guys have a long life full of activity ahead of you,” Ms. DeLuca said. “Especially when you’re young, people think they’re invincible, they can’t get hurt, it’s no big deal, but if you push yourself that little extra, you could be making something so much worse that could have been easily fixed.”
While it may seem like giving your body time to recover is weakening you, it is not. “The mental challenge I faced while injured was telling myself that I’m going to lose so much progress, I won’t be as strong, I won’t be as fast. If you listen to your doctors and your body, you will get stronger, not weaker,” Shawna said.
Oftentimes students have a hard time distinguishing being hurt from being injured. Undoubtedly, everyone’s pain scale is different, so it can be hard to know when you really need to stop for a while.
The trainers use a pain scale to help students distinguish this line. “Your pain should never be increasing,” Ms. DeLuca said. “If you come in and your pain is a two out of ten, and you start doing something and all of a sudden it’s more like a six out of ten, that is an indicator to stop doing what you are doing. If your pain is staying the same or decreasing, that is fine. But pain increasing on that scale is a good way to tell yourself you need to stop.”
After sustaining an injury, the first thing most athletes wonder is when they can return because they want to get back as soon as possible. However, it is crucial not to rush your recovery. “For athletes currently going through an injury, have patience for coming back,” Griffin said. “If you are injured, don’t rush the process and come back to play because then you will just re-injure yourself.”
Shawna’s best advice for athletes with an injury is to “stay the course.” And she’s devoted herself to this too. “Stay the course- things are going to happen in your life. There are going to be bumps in the road, and there are going to be upsets and injuries, but the most important thing is to understand that these are all part of life, and you have to move past one thing at a time. Understand that injuries are going to happen, but stay positive and know that you’ll eventually get through it,” Shawna said.
