Then you have athletes who are on the long-term injury list, especially including those who needed surgery to repair the damage done. Regrettably, I was recently one of those suckers having had surgery on my Achilles last June, although my good news story is that I just returned to running racing after exactly a 1 year gap...it wasn't meant to be that long...
This is an article about what is it like being on the long-term injury list - a story numerous other people could also tell - when the physical, mental and emotional demons take their toll on your very being. The experience tests your resolve, and teaches you more about the perspective of life and sport than any book. Inevitably, almost all sports injuries do recover and you do get back in the game more worldly than before, but in the meantime you'll feel like a black sheep in a white flock, and get sick of being asked about it.
Of course, all injuries are different and in my case I was fortunate to have a fairly clear, albeit extended, path to recovery. But for others the only thing worse than not knowing what an injury problem is, is not know how long it will take to recover and the rocky road you must traverse en route. There are multiple points of rock-bottom along the way, perhaps the worst being the news of how bad an injury actually is - the honest truth is often hard to hear, rarely more so when it relates to sport that is part of your life, and an extension of you.
When it comes to injuries, magical silver bullets are few and far between, mainly because there are rarely any quick fixes. Rest to an athlete is like a four-letter word to a saint - it doesn't fit well. When you don't have a timeline for recovery, it is the unknown and lost hope that wears you down. Sports people are generally optimistic by nature, always marking their calendars with upcoming events, but imagine having a blank calendar because you just don't when - or even if, in come cases - you'll be competing again. It sucks.
Athletes are not the only ones to suffer through injuries as those close by also cop the grumpiness...to put it mildly. Spouses, family members, friends, colleagues will all feel some brunt from the injury. When you're injured it's easy to feel that other people just don't get it, which in some cases is probably correct, however it is usually fair to say that whoever is injured loses a bit of perspective about the impact of it, after all, we're not talking life-and-death (I hope!!).
Unfortunately the emotional picture I'm painting is not all that rosy, which is the equal biggest issue along with the physical injury, because as I mentioned earlier one of the biggest lessons from being injured is revised perspective of life and sport. For most of us sport is a passion and an indulgence in an otherwise busy life. In a balanced life an injury would just represents a (temporary) re-balancing of the aspects of life so that it is still fulfilling and enjoyable. The worst thing is to wallow around in endless self-pity...you'll win no friends that way. You need to get over yourself and get on with life.
When you are on the injury list - short, medium or long-term - the best people to help are the ones who are already around you. Good friends prop you up and take your mind off your main problem. I found that putting my energy and support into their endeavours (via coaching) was returned through appreciation and mutual support for my return to activity. Staying involved with your sporting friends - rather than shrinking away - also gives them an insight into your situation. What comes around goes around, so remaining upbeat and optimistic is the best way to deal with what might otherwise be a crappy situation. It's all about perspective.
Suffice to say, no amount of karma - given or received - will necessarily improve your injury condition, but it surely helps to shift your focus until the time comes when you can actually get going again, no matter how small the baby steps are. Rejoice in what you can do, and be sensible...the best predictor of a future injury is a prior injury. Have some humility in that you're not bullet-proof and grateful to have another chance at your sport.
The road back is no less fraught with dangers than the injury path itself. Sometimes it feels like one-and-a-half-steps forward, one-step (or more) back. As long as you keep moving ahead then that is progress. The hardest part is realising that getting back to the fitness level you had before can reasonably take almost as long as the time you had on the side-lines, and not to fast track things because you've had a good day. Week by week your confidence will increase in line with your fitness, and be careful not to fall into old, bad habits which may have led to the injury in the first place. In fact, understanding why an injury occurred is as important as the recovery and re-hab process. I'd say that about 80-90% of injuries are due to mistakes in training of some form or nature.
When you finally line up again in a race, the feeling is like being a new kid at school - excitement, nervousness, anxiety and more. You kind of remember what is ahead and what it will feel like, but there's nothing like the first-hand experience again to shock you back into reality. But the overall feeling is immense joy and satisfaction; the happiness of being "back in the game".
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