8 Tips on what to do if you are injured
Injuries are an athlete’s worst nightmare. They can change the course of your career/hobby and even make you quit the sport. However, there are a few things you can do when you get injured to make the best of it.
1. Make sure you get the right diagnosis.
This seems logical, but there are many instances of getting wrongly diagnosed and having to pay a high price for this. It is always worth getting a second opinion from another specialist to make sure you got diagnosed correctly and you can start recovering in the right way.
2. Take your time
If you got your diagnosis, you now know how bad it is. Take some time to let this settle in and adapt to your new reality. It can be tempting to try and pick up life from where you left off or to try to do exercises to recover. But most of the time this is not possible and will only let the realization of your new situation settle in later. Take a breath, think about what is happening now. Make a plan and execute on this plan, do not start blindly.
3. Back to work
Most injuries require some (or a lot) of work during rehabilitation. When you are ready, speak with an expert on how to tackle your injury the best way possible and to make the recovery time as small as possible. But be aware, for some players rest is the best solution, and also for some the hardest. Make sure you know exactly what is good for you and what is not. Besides physical work, you can work on learning new things about the sport by doing research online. Watch the top players explain some shots, or maybe read 29all articles on other subjects, like a splitstep for example.
4. Sleep
You will notice that everything with an injury will become more difficult. Opening the door, going upstairs, etc. Everything requires more strength from other muscles and also more cognitive energy. Therefore, you will need more sleep and rest. Not only this, but the body is (in most cases) recovering from a trauma and rebuilding muscle/tendon/bone, this also takes up a lot more energy from your body. Take out more time to sleep, this will make you recover more quickly. Besides, a good rhythm is key for a healthy mental state. Having an injury can really get you down mentally, so making sure you have a good sleep schedule is step 1 in starting to feel better.
5. Eat
In addition to sleep, your body is going to require good food to recover. As mentioned above your body is working really hard to get back to the state it was in before, and it will need all the building material it can get. So, it will be (more than ever) important to eat a varied diet and to drink enough (water). Besides this you are probably not able to exercise the same amount as you were used to, so you are not burning the same number of calories. Be aware that it is easy to gain weight while having an injury. It would be a bummer if you finally are allowed to play again, but now you have to start losing weight first before you get back to your previous level. And also, you are more prone to injuries when you put on more weight. Watch your food!
6. Be social
Getting an injury can isolate you, and make you feel more alone. Friends you used to see every day at the club or hall are not present in your life anymore and this can make you feel sad. The fact that you don’t play anymore doesn’t mean you can’t see them any longer. If it is hard for you to be at the hall or club, because you want to play so badly it gets you down, meet somewhere else. It is important to spend some time with others, otherwise your recovery time will be a lot harder and feel a lot longer than it has to.
7. Back on court
It is finally time for you to step on court and play again. End of the story? Hang on, not yet. Are you sure you have taken enough time off? Or are you cutting corners by starting a few days or weeks too early? Keep in mind that a few days extra could mean the difference between being back in the game for good or starting a long and painful time where you are not completely recovered and increasing your chances of getting injured again. You already waited this long, what’s wrong with a few extra days to make sure you are back? When you do decide to start again, make sure you start as light and easy as possible. Listen to what your body is telling you and slowly increase the intensity. It could help to make a plan beforehand and stick to it. This way you don’t get carried away by your own enthusiasm and you know how slow you want to take it.
8. Never again
You recovered; you can be proud of yourself. However, it doesn’t mean you can go back to your old way of doing things. Talk with an expert about what you can do to prevent this type (and any type) of injury in the future. There are several things you can do to prevent injuries in the future. You probably have a higher risk of getting the same injury in the future so this is important to learn. Make sure you take care of this because as you know now more than ever, injuries are no fun. Enjoy the game, and be grateful everyday you can play pain free!
