Anyone who has been into sports or has been an avid sports fan knows what it feels like to be a sportsman. For a sportsman, being able to perform the sport is everything.
However, owing to the addiction to the sport and the tremendous pressure to outperform, almost all of the sportsmen face injuries. Some of them can be routine and some so critical that they might stop them from getting back on the field for a very long time, if not forever.
Injuries can be a Nightmare
Often, some elite sportsmen begin training from a very young age even at four or five years.
A lot of studies have revealed that many of the sportsmen have accepted that their lives are defined by the sport they play. They are obsessed with the fitness, the joy and the societal elegance they receive due to it.
However, they lose everything they have if they have to go through a serious injury. Injuries can snatch away the careers of sportsmen. These unplanned breaks not only test the sportsman on their physical strengths but also on mental levels. Not being on the field leads to a tremendous amount of fear and anxiety.
Types of Injuries
The actual type of injury depends on what type of sport is played and the physical demands of the sport. Generally speaking, most of them result in wear to the knees, leg joints and muscles.
Fall seven times, stand up eight.!
There is a cliché saying amongst athletes, fall seven times, stand up eight. Injuries are a part & parcel of a sportsman’s journey. History has been full of sports heroes who have fallen back due to near-fatal injuries but have still managed to tie their shoelaces and sprint back on the field, regaining their spot on the chart.
However, all said and done, recovering from injuries is not always an easy road to walk on. In most cases identifying that you have an injury and then initiating the right treatment is the key. But in most of the cases, the sportsmen try to suppress the injury and tend to carry on with the game. This can be lethal and can worsen the wound. Delaying treatment can further increase the damage and in-turn make you take rest off the field for prolonged durations.
As a player, it is always recommended that in times of injury you accept the fact and immediately undergo treatment from experts.
An expert in the field is extremely crucial for treating the injuries. Timely care and proper medication help heal a lot of returning sports stars. The doctors have played a phenomenal role in the recovery of these players.
Real-world inspirations
Sachin Tendulkar: Even the most average cricket follower would have heard about the Little Master of the cricket world. At the peak of his career, Sachin Tendulkar faced his worst nightmare when he was diagnosed with a critical medical condition called the ‘Tennis Elbow’.
It was so bad that in an interview, he said that he had almost reached the edge of depression. In this condition, he couldn’t even hold a cricket bat, let alone play cricket on the ground. However, with the aid from the right team of expert doctors, a series of surgeries and proper medication he was cured of the ailment. After battling it out against the tennis elbow Sachin was back on the ground hitting his masterstrokes, again.
Tiger Woods: One of the most iconic names in Golf games over the world has also had his fair share of injuries. He played the 2008 U.S. Open after suffering a double stress fracture of his left tibia. He was also dealing with numerous back pain issues and underwent a series of surgeries. He was wondering if he could ever play on the PGA Tour again let alone win it. Yet again he got another entry after his win at the Tour Championship in September 2018 and then won at the 2019 Masters.
Return to the field
Though injuries can take you down, with the right recovery methods and a lot of mental toughness, sportsmen can return much better, faster, and stronger than before.
What if they have to undergo surgeries, well who says undergoing surgical procedure has to be disheartening? Many of the patients have found the opposite to be true. These bitter experiences only fired up the competitive spirit within them.
In modern times, with the way advanced technology, medical care, and surgical precision have developed, many of those breaks, muscle sprains & tears are no longer the career-enders that athletes have to fear anymore.
With all of these, sportsmen can now return to the field with complete confidence. For the ones with the innate fighting spirit, “the career-ending injury” is now just another injury.
