Many student athletes have experienced injuries, whether minor or major. About 3.5 million athletes experience injuries each year (Sport Injury Statistics). Major injuries that take players out of playing their sports for a prolonged period, months or even up to a year, can mentally impact them. Because of the long recovery times, keeping up with the physical therapy and maintaining a positive attitude about the whole process is difficult.
Peyton Klosterman (11) is a wide receiver for the Highlands High School football team, and he had a bad injury to his right foot in the off-season. He had a Lisfranc injury, a disruption to the Lisfranc joint, between the toes and ankle, or the middle of his foot. This injury caused his recovery to take a decent amount of time.
“My recovery is about 3 months long, but a big chunk of it is spent with me not being able to put any weight on my foot,” Klosterman said.
Aiden Duncan (11), running back for the Highlands High School football team, broke his tibia in two places, tore through all of the ligaments in his ankle, and dislocated his ankle. This injury caused his recovery time to be significantly longer due to the severity of his injury and how many parts of his ankle were injured.
“My recovery process was about 7 months,” Duncan said.
Even though these injuries were very different in terms of recovery time and the injury itself, both students had their issues with their mental health.
“When I initially hurt myself, the first few weeks felt like there was no end and that the struggle was never going to end, like I was stuck not being able to get out of bed or not being able to do basic things like going to the shower,” Klosterman said.
When athletes have to deal with the transition to not being able to do anything, it can be hard to process.
“It was not easy mentally, it just was hard not to be able to do anything I used to be able to do,” Duncan said.
The injury itself is challenging on its own, but the recovery process, including physical therapy, is very mentally and physically challenging.
“My recovery process was hard because after a while it just got annoying, and I know if I didn’t tear anything, my recovery would have only been 4 months instead of 7, so that was difficult to process,” Duncan said.
Since Klosterman’s injury was in a vital part of his foot, the physical therapy part of his recovery was delayed because of how severe his injury was. It also affected how he moved around his house, the school, etc.
“Since I couldn’t put weight on my foot for about 13 weeks, I haven’t started my physical therapy yet, but when I initially came back to school, I had to wear my boot and ride a scooter, which was fun until it wasn’t. Getting onto my crutches was a nice step in the right direction, and when I finally got off the crutches, it seemed like things were finally looking up for me,” Klosterman said.
When these big injuries happen, it can be hard to transition from being independent to asking for help with basic things that people don’t think about.
“One of the things that was difficult for for me was not being able to do things for myself, like not being able to walk, not being able to get up and make my own food or go to the bathroom or the little things that you don’t think about, but when it’s taken away for you from you, it becomes a very big inconvenience,” Klosterman said.
Since both of these students are football players, the transition from being injured to coming back can be scary.
“Now that I am back, I have to tape and put a gel on it where I got hurt. It’s been hard, just like trying to get back in shape by running around and playing, and getting used to getting hit again,” Duncan said.
Being hurt during the preseason is difficult because this is where players get into shape and prove their abilities to the coaches, and having it taken away can have a big impact on an athlete’s mental health.
“I was having one of the best off seasons on our team, and I was getting stronger, I was getting faster, and then all that was taken away in one day, and you got pretty much not start back at zero but essentially start back at zero. The coaches and I were really excited about the season, and it was stolen from me,” Klosterman said.
The mystery of when athletes are eventually cleared to play also has a big impact on how they think about their injuries and their future. Many athletes get scared that they will reinjure themselves or that they can’t perform at the level they used to.
“I think the scariest part is not knowing what the future holds and what level I’ll be able to play at,” Klostermnan said.
Coming back can also raise the fear of the injury happening again because of its severity and how much time it takes for an athlete to rebuild their strength back into the part that was injured.
“I haven’t had any setbacks or any signs of me reinjuring myself, so hopefully it doesn’t happen,” Duncan said.
Major injuries can impact student athletes because the change in their lives, missing out on a sport they’ve played their whole life, and the idea of not knowing what the future holds when they get back, can make the recovery process more mentally challenging.
