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It’s the fate of every athlete to get injured. No matter what your sport or how hardy your
constitution, if you keep at it long enough you’ll eventually be on what pro teams call the DL
(disabled list). It’s a simple matter of probability.
How about Denver running back Terrell Davis, who was considered indestructible? After helping
the Broncos to two consecutive Super Bowl victories, he tore his ACL (anterior cruciate ligament
of the knee) on a seemingly innocuous play early in the 2000 season when he collided with a
teammate. New York Knicks center Patrick Ewing banged bodies with big men for years—then tore
his Achilles’ tendon in 1999. We recreational athletes aren’t invulnerable either. I buried my ski tip under a log hidden in Utah’s powder. I felt a little twinge, but I kept skiing. Two painful months later an arthroscopic exam revealed cartilage damage and I spent six weeks on crutches.
Okay, you’re hurt and out of commission. How do you keep from losing all your fitness and slowly going nuts?
Trust the Miracles of Modern Science.
Thanks to recent surgical and rehabilitative advances, formerly career-threatening injuries aren’t as serious as they used to be. In past years, Davis’ ACL injury would have meant the end of his career. Now, after an operation and aggressive rehab, Davis is planning to come back at full strength next season. Or consider Italian cyclist Marco Pantani. When an automobile strayed onto the race course he hit it head-on at 40 mph, flying over the hood into the windshield and
suffering an open fracture of the lower leg. He recovered to win the Tour de France. If you’re
hurt, don’t give up hope. Trust the docs, do the rehab and you’ll be back.
Detraining Takes Longer Than You Think.
Injured athletes panic when they can’t train, thinking that months of hard work will evaporate
as they recover. But the process of losing fitness, called detraining, doesn’t happen overnight. In one study, subjects who had done only three weeks of strength training didn’t lose that strength in a subsequent four-week layoff. Another study asked subjects to lift for 12 weeks, then do no further strength training for a year. They lost only 45 percent of the strength
they had gained. Losses of muscular endurance, speed, agility, and cardiovascular function
are more rapid than pure strength, but they can be regained faster than they were built
initially.
It’s Not a Layoff, It’s Rest.
Professional cyclists are often injured—broken collarbones are practically an occupational
hazard—but the resulting layoffs rarely mean a significant loss of fitness. In fact,
riders usually come back stronger than before. Take Oscar Freire, for example.
A grueling three-week stage race is considered the best preparation for the 160-mile World
cycling championships. An injury early in the 1999 season forced Freire to stop riding in
mid-summer, then gradually re-build his fitness. He raced only 11 times before his amazing
October victory. He was rested and enthused for the big day.
Try Alternate Activities.
When you injure one body part, you can often exercise using different limbs. According to the
Gatorade Sports Science Institute Tom Koto of the Idaho Sports Medicine Institute recommends “resting the injured body part and working the rest of the body.” Suppose you suffer plantar fascitis and this painful arch ailment prevents you not only from running but from walking fast too. Simply switch to the bike (with your physician’s approval of course), using stiff-soled cycling shoes to alleviate strain on the injured tissue. What if you break your wrist and are in a cast so you can’t ride or play basketball or other team sports? Preserve your aerobic fitness by walking, running or hiking on steep hills.
Build Back Slowly.
What’s the biggest mistake injured athletes make? They get impatient and try to come back too
quickly, before natural healing processes have taken place. Follow medical instructions to the letter. Don’t be what the medical profession calls a “non-complying patient.” Chances are your physician or therapist has seen your injury scores of times and knows exactly how long recovery takes. Trying to force the issue almost always results in re-injury or slowed healing.
The Mental Challenge.
Injured athletes are almost always depressed athletes. They become accustomed to the routine
of daily training and the feeling of taut fitness. When both are taken from them, they
sometimes fall into clinical depression. This phenomenon affects recreational athletes too
because they often use daily exercise as a “time out” from the demands of life. When they
can’t exercise, they can’t escape. For now, fill your former work-out time with other
activities—read a book, meet with friends, learn a new language, write in a journal, take
that trip you’ve been promising yourself. Soon you’ll be recovered and back on the road to
fitness.
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