I recently got hip arthroscopy surgery to fix a labral tear on my left hip to alleviate nearly a year of hip pain due to overuse. I’ve also sustained countless injuries over the course of my ongoing, nine-year hockey career. Here are some of my takeaways and words of wisdom to any athlete or active individual.
Constant pain during activity isn’t normal! I brushed off the pain in my hips because I was so accustomed to pain while playing hockey or going on bike rides. I thought it was just soreness or indicators that my body was getting stronger when in reality my hip was damaged and in desperate need of rest. Make sure to communicate with your coaches and parents of any persistent/sudden pain, even if there wasn’t an incident where you could have sustained an injury. Remember, random pain out of nowhere isn’t a good sign.
Similarly, don’t push through the pain! It may look admirable to others and gain you some extra playing time, but coming from experience, it truthfully isn’t worth it. You end up further irritating and injuring yourself and put yourself at risk for more damage. Furthermore, it can often prolong your recovery time. Don’t be afraid to take breaks during practices to rest your injured area.
Nutrition and hydration is incredibly important to injury prevention and recovery. Make sure you are getting adequate and proper food and hydration before and after activity. I am collaborating with Mrs. [Maureen] Siburt, who is the Wellness Coordinator, to bring a sports nutrition curriculum to Holton, so stay tuned! In the meantime, you can look up online sports nutrition for teenagers to get reliable and helpful information.
In addition, stretching and recovery are critical to injury prevention and recovery. Check out one of my past Scribbling articles, where I review my experiences with different recovery methods, such as foam rolling or dry needling!
To those of you who are in physical therapy- do your exercises!!! Your exercises are made to supplement the work you do in PT, and you will be the only one suffering if you fail to do your home exercises.
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