By Emre Balkis, Year 10
As an athlete, you are bound to get injured at some point in your career, whether it is a fatal injury, or just a minor one. It is part of playing a sport but can be frustrating. Getting injured is not only physically painful, but can also affect one’s mental health. However, the key to recovery is to be patient and have faith. The first thing you should do after getting injured is seek treatment right away. Going to a doctor immediately is the best way to prevent it from getting more serious. If you keep playing while being injured, it could significantly worsen as well as prolonge the recovery process. Depending on your injury, you might just get some type of brace, or you might need to wear a cast for a certain amount of time.
A good diet is also an extremely vital step in the recovery process. Having a well balanced diet of carbs, fats, and proteins speeds up the healing process by giving the injured area the nutrients it needs to recover. On top of this, staying hydrated is extremely important as it gets rid of toxins and circulates the nutrients to the injury.
Once you have taken off your cast, or removed your brace, going to physical therapy and doing rehabilitation exercises is the next and final step in the recovery process. These exercises will bring back strength and flexibility to your injured muscle or ligament, and will prevent it from reproducing. Following the rehabilitation plan given to you by a doctor and or physiotherapists and doing them properly is vital when it comes to getting back on track. It is equally important to avoid any activities which may hurt or worsen the injury. Consistency and patience is key during this specific time period. Going to all of the prescribed sessions and doing your exercises at home is what will lead you to come back and play your sport.
In conclusion, being physically active is very important for everyone, however, getting injured is extremely annoying as it can prevent you from doing your everyday activities which bring happiness and fulfilment to your life. Recovering from these injuries quickly is crucial and requires patience, faith, and discipline. Visiting a doctor, maintaining a healthy diet, going to a physiotherapist, following a rehabilitation program, and being consistent throughout, are the ingredients to heal. With this advice, an athlete can recover from any injury and return to their sport with even greater motivation and determination.
