As an athlete, I know how it feels to be afraid of getting injured and unable to compete in a meet or play in a game. I know at least a few people who got injured during their sport, including me.
It was a hot sunny morning. I was competing in the 100m hurdle race for the Steele Relays. I jumped over one. Two. Three. And when I was in the air for the fourth, I clipped my foot on the hurdle and swiftly dropped down to the ground.
At that moment, I felt completely fine, I even made an attempt to get back on my feet, until I witnessed the consequences of the impact, the injury. All the other teams continued running until it was apparent that something wasn’t right and it had grabbed the attention of others.
One by one a crowd of trainers and my coach began to flock in, surrounding me. My brother had even hopped over a fence to get to me to ensure that I was okay. I was in so much pain but yet I couldn’t feel it. I had all of these people rushing to my side for an injury I couldn’t feel a single thing for.
The fact of the matter was, my worries were not focused on the injury at all. The center of my worries was fixated on my relay team and the fear that came with thinking they would be disappointed in me if I didn’t finish the race.
When the discovery was made that I couldn’t walk, an ambulance was called. When they arrived, they carried me away on a stretcher, my brother by my side the entire time. On the way to the hospital, the pain I hadn’t felt until this moment kicked in.
Once we finally got to the emergency room, the doctors quickly acted and took me to get an x-ray to see if it was broken like everyone had originally thought. The pain at this point was excruciating, I was in absolute agony. I could hardly speak and even the slightest shift in movement hurt.
They ended up putting me under anesthesia before I couldn’t even figure out what happened to my ankle. While being put under, they popped my ankle back into place. After they popped it back in they took more X-rays to take a closer look at what they were working with.
Waking up from anesthesia felt like I was riding the same part of a rollercoaster over and over again until I wasn’t loopy anymore.
Once I was fully conscious and aware of my surroundings, the doctor told me that my ankle wasn’t broken but in fact, it was just a very bad dislocation. Not only did they tell me that I was out for the rest of my track season, but they also told me that I probably wouldn’t be able to play most of my volleyball season in the fall due to how long the recovery will be.
Junior, Michele Winslow, has been in and out of sports due to a recurring injury. Winslow is a devout volleyball player who doesn’t just play during its season. She plays all year round whether it be during the school season, club, or beach.
In the midst of her high school volleyball season, she had a shooting pain that went down her leg that was consistent and relentless. Even as she tried to put the pain aside and push through it, there eventually became a moment that she realized there was only so much she could take until it became too much to ignore.
Halfway through the season, her doctor had informed her of a stress fracture that she had in her leg, which ultimately meant that she could no longer play and would be out for the rest of the season. As if the stress fractures weren’t bad enough, she also had shin splints.
Michele says that she must have hurt herself by “not stopping nor stretching properly,” which is absolutely crucial when it comes to the flexibility of the muscles.
Both injuries had affected not only her performance in volleyball, but her as a person altogether. Since her injury was in her legs it made her vertical drop, a major part of volleyball.
She also says that she lost the most important time of her season as the “last couple weeks is when everything you learn comes together.”
Getting injured has reminded her to stretch more and to take care of herself not only out of season but during season too.
Injuries throughout LHS
From ankle injuries to shin problems, the number of student-athletes going to our athletic trainer has increased.
Our athletic trainer, Ashley Mourao, gave me some information about some of the injuries that have happened this year and what she thinks most of them came from.
The peak of most of the injuries was from August of 2023 to May of 2024. During this period, 2,815 visits were documented with only 1,264 athletes going into the athletic training room for either injury evaluations or treatments. “Treatments can include taping of various body parts, rehabilitation for specific injuries, first-aid, concussion return to play, ” says Mourao.
The most common injury was to the foot and ankle, with 38 documented injuries. “We taped 1 ankle for 245 athletes, and both ankles on 142 athletes,” Mourao says.
She also says that 100 athletes had both shins taped and 162 athletes had their wrists taped.
Mourao has been working as an athletic trainer at LHS for thirteen years and has seen a vast number of injuries. Seeing many people come in and out of her office, she believes that there is a cause for people getting hurt. While there could be many different possibilities, Mourao assumes that some of the injuries are from wear and tear, not enough conditioning or over-conditioning and training too much.
The fear of losing the game can be great, but think about the fear of permanently injuring your body because of the game. Make sure you know your limits, take precautions. and remember that your health is the number one priority. Taking care of yourself is taking care of your team.