Sidelined Star Athlete :: Quiz the Coach

Dec 31, 2010

Question by tiredofpain

So, I am one of those girls that plays everything and who everybody thinks is the super athlete. The problem is tough, I ALWAYS get hurt. I don't know how, and I try to prevent it, but it always ends up being inevitable. I wear my knee brace and my thumb brace, etc. It's usually at my joints or muscles around my joints that get hurt, and it is really starting to affect my ability to play well. I just don't know what to do...

Banged Up Bones

Sidelined Star

Want to Win

Seek Specific Sports Doctor

When to say When

Sidelined Star

It’s a common problem that great athletes overdo it. You might be a great athlete and you have a lot of fun scoring goals, winning races, and you want more, more, more! The problem is that it sounds like you don’t know when to say when. Well, I’ll say it for you… you have to stop before you kill yourself.

Forever Feeble

Ok, you’re not going to kill yourself, but you might end up with some injuries that could screw up your body for the rest of your life. By over-exhausting your body and/or playing on an injured body part (braces are not 100% fool-proof), you are playing with fire and you could get an injury that will never go away.

Stress to be Best

Want to Win

It sounds like you are stressed out. You say that you’re too hurt to “play well”. You have to stop thinking like this. It’s way more important to have fun when you play sports. If you stress out about your performance, it’s a snowball effect… the more you stress, the worse you play, the worse you play, the more you stress. Not good!

Road to Recovery

Seek Specific Sports Doctor

You can’t have fun playing sports while you’re injured. You have to take steps before you can get back into the game. Here they are:

Rest and Recover
Get examined by a sports doctor
Train your injuries with physiotherapy
Practice returning to the field
Eat properly (you need to eat certain foods for specific injuries)
Research your injury (Internet is a great source to find out all about your injury)
Talk to someone who has the same injury as you (someone older who can give you advice)
Learn specific stretches, strengthening techniques and ways to recover

Healthy = Happy

The next big question you have to ask yourself is, “How did you let this happen?” You have to make sure it doesn’t happen again. I can’t answer this question, but I can tell you that playing sports can be addictive and it’s very possible that the addiction pushes your body too far. If you are addicted to winning because it makes you feel good, you might push yourself too hard to win again and get injured. Make sure to try and learn that winning isn’t everything in life. Your health is much more important!