Currently, I'm injured. Big news. Radiohead wrote a song about it.
But this injury is different. I actually like this injury. Because it's a normal injury sustained through normal means. A slight hamstring strain sustained at training last Monday got aggrivated on Tuesday night when I jumped to attempt to D a huck. Tried to play through it, but lasted approximately two minutes. Advice from AUG trainer: take it easy, apply RICE for 48 hours and see a doctor or physio. Advice from doctor: keep off it over the weekend, do some stretches and only train lightly this week. It feels ok now to walk on, but we'll see how I pull up after training tomorrow night. I'm not terribly worried about it at all.
Why not? Have a look at my semi-major to major injury history over the last couple of years...
April 2004
Injury: Dislocated patella. Cause: air guitar to this song on a wet dance floor. Down time: 12 months following surgery.
September 2005
Injury: Jarred knee, followed by severe swelling preventing normal joint function. Cause: same again, but I think it was this song instead. Down time: 1.5 days during AUG.
November 2006
Injury: Skin infection. Cause: blistering from a combination of new knee braces and hot weather. Down time: 0.5 days during WUCC.
November 2006
Injury: Jarred thumb. Cause: mistimed high five. Down time: 2 weeks following WUCC.
July 2007
Injury: bruised pelvis. Cause: crashing a stolen bicycle. Down time: 2.5 weeks.
September 2007
Injury: Dehydration plus sodium and potassium deficiency. Cause: failure to replenish fluid and nutrients lost during previous day. Real cause: alcohol abuse during the previous night. Down time: 1.5 days during AUG.
So it was refreshing to be able to go to my doctor and not have him laugh at me. However I did have quite a dark moment with this injury on Tuesday night. I got home from the hour long drive limping like a war veteran, but adamant that "I'll be fine by the morning." But when I went to walk upstairs to bed, it felt like someone had stabbed me in the leg with a star picket. I went down like I'd been shot and threw a few f-bombs about the place. I had one thought - "Shit...what if I can't play AUG?"
Turns out I'll be fine, but that dark thought ate away at me that night and I barely slept. I got reminded of it today while watching Geelong versus St Kilda, and seeing Brent Prismall go down with what is almost certainly a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. As he was getting stretchered from the field, the look on his face told the story - he wasn't in pain from the knee, he was gutted that he will miss the chance to play in a premiership side.
For elite athletes sustaining a season, or even career, threatening injury, the psychological damage must surely be almost as devastating as the physical damage. Fortunately, they will almost always have access to a sports psychologist who can help them with such matters. But what about the amateur athletes? They will almost certainly turn to team mates to help them through, but they won't necessarily be the ones to reach out for help.
I suppose what we can do as ultimate players for friends with long term injuries is to keep them in the loop - let them know how the team is doing and let them know that they are being missed. Gives them that extra motivational factor to help them in their recovery and rehabilitation.
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3 comments:
Last year at mixed nats the ACT had two ACL injuries and its interesting to note how the two athletes responded.
John threw himself into the admin, coaching and theoretical side of ultimate. He has found the full embrace of ultimate as his means to satisfy himself. He has been working hard at rehabilitating his knee and otherwise has worked on the parts of his game that he can while injuried.
Ian instead quickly sort out new activities that he could do that focused on the limbs he could use straight away. He has become heavily involved in outrigging, which is a style of canoeing. The frustation of not being able to play has perhaps forced Ian to distance himself from frisbee a little.
What an appropriate post! Just got out of an ACL reconstruction today!
yeah, its true i think the psychological bit, I remember shitting myself and going into a fit of hysteria and probably crying when I hurt my knee, not becuase of the immediate pain but becuase I was shit scared that I'd torn my ACL and not be able to play for ages.
In the past 2 weeks I'd rolled my ankle, been cut from the Juniors team and then gotten injured in the spectacular 15th v 16th last game of the day at Nationals. I was pretty down in that 5th hour of waiting at the hospital alone.
A few weeks later of pain turned out I couldn't play youth nationals which was somethign to look forwards to and that I had actaully torn my ACL. I was pretty unhappy for a few weeks, stopped all activity just about put on about 8 kilos despite all the muscle loss becuase of the knee.
But since then I've tried to get into Sydney Uni admin stuff picking up the role of treasurer, going along to Unigames anyway to party and support Suufa, as well as starting to get a bit of the fitness which i'd never had in abundance anyway back.
Good post. I am one of those players who struggles to stay injury free. You name it i have more than likely injured it somehow.
I have noticed how it does affect your developement within a team and the game in general. Playing for an elite team and suffering an injury more than likely your confidence will drop.
for example. recently i suffer a run of low grade sprained ankles(grade 1) the kinda you keep playing on. This continual injuring of my ankles significantly reduced my confidence in being able to jump and land safely, which in this game when you shorter than 6 foot is kinda important. It has taken me something like 6 months of being injury free to get this confidence back, this is despite my body being more than able to coup with the stresses of the activity.
I find this interesting going through the process know i can do it but subconciously pulling out.
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