I’ve been reminding myself of this lately as I work through a lot of little injuries that I’ve accumulated over the last 6 months.
The trigger was my return to division 1 women’s soccer for the first time since my ACLR surgery at the end of 2021. I hadn’t actually played at this level since the end of 2019 due to moving and to covid restrictions.
For my ACL tear – at first, I questioned it. I wondered why and what could I have done differently to avoid this type of injury. There are numerous reasons, especially for female athletes, that contribute to an ACL tear and narrowing it down can be difficult. Ruminating on the why’s didn’t help, eventually accepting it and focusing on my rehab was the way forward.
My goal following surgery was always to make it back to my pre-injury level of soccer and I had no doubt in my mind that I would make it there. Yes, the two years leading up to this point had ups and downs, but I had a great team and put in the time to make my rehab a priority.
But this isn’t about my ACL injury.
This is about the injuries I’ve sustained in the first season back. I knew it wouldn’t be 100% smooth, as a transition back into high level, high intensity sport rarely is after any kind of break.
I didn’t expect to have this many set backs.
I had, and still have, high expectations of myself and what I want my performance on the field to be. And I keep falling short. So I say to myself again, getting injured doesn’t mean failure.
This season, I’ve had a right achilles tendinopathy, a left achilles tendinopathy, knee pain related to my surgery, left SIJ pain and a minor grade II myofascial hamstring tear.
If I had a patient come to see me for a physiotherapy appointment and brought up all of these injuries, we’d be having a conversation around load management and why the load is being distributed so unevenly through the lower legs. We’d chat about my warm ups for games and my recovery strategies. I’d ask about nutrition and fueling properly for a sudden spike in high intensity, long duration activity. We’d touch on work or life changes and stress management – because all of those factors play a role in injury.
So I had that conversation with myself, and took myself out of my co-ed soccer league, and am taking multiple weeks off from my women’s team to recover from my hamstring injury. I took my own advice and have been seeing a physiotherapist, massage and a trainer, while also doing rehab at home. I stay fueled, and hydrated and prioritize sleep.
Still, I’ve been extremely frustrated this season.
When I’m feeling frustrated, I give myself the day or so to feel that way – injuries do suck.
These are the key aspects I focus on to take steps forward and not ruminate on the injury:
- I draw strength and motivation from looking back in my athletic career and knowing how many injuries I’ve overcome – take these past experiences to help build confidence back in yourself.
- Movement is already a habit for me, so I just acknowledge that there will be a shift in priorities to the rehab and away from performance goals for now.
- Continue to check the boxes that I can to make recovering from the injury a priority – eating, hydrating, sleeping, enjoyment. I also make sure I start loading the tissues and maintain strength in the rest of my body.
- Building an identity outside of my main sport – this is probably something I still struggle with a bit, but I think about the other hobbies and activities I have started enjoying outside of soccer and intentionally do more of those. For me that’s reading, writing, going for a daily walk, bike rides, some sort of continued learning because I enjoy it and making time for friends and family.
- I remind myself I’m playing the long game – a few weeks here isn’t much in the timeline of life. I focus on how the things I’m doing now will set me up for success in the future.
Getting an injury doesn’t mean you’ve failed.
If you’re struggling with your injury and need a rehab plan – book in a one-to-one virtual consultation with me. Let’s work through your injury!
