Perhaps the most crucial part of an athlete's injury rehabilitation
process is the first few weeks following the injury or surgery. How the
athlete acts and what their mindset is like during this critical period is so
important because it sets the tone for the entire rehab process. I
am now nearing 3 weeks post surgery to repair the laberal tear in my hip.
These past few weeks have been tough, trying to adopt a new normal and
adapt to a new way of doing things. Being confined to crutches
for 6 weeks as well as not being able to bend my hip past 90 degrees during
this entire time period has been rough. The first few days after surgery
I was in so much pain that I couldn't fathom the idea of being able to life my
leg up or do much of anything. However, as the days progressed, my pain
decreased, and my mobility increased, I felt a little bit more in control of
the situation.
I was sent to a physical therapist the day after surgery and immediately
began the rehab process. I was definitely scared and nervous to
start doing physical therapy when it had barely been 24 hours since I had the
surgery. With every exercise and movement I was hesitant, but I trusted
my physical therapist and was assured that although it was going to be tough I
was going to start getting better. Two days later I went back
to physical therapy with the new mindset that I was going to make greater
strides in my recovery each day that I went to physical therapy. I was
also given a home program of exercises to be doing on my own. I was so
excited to get this because I knew that my ability to get healthier quicker was
in my own hands. It was my responsibility to do what I could to help with
the healing and rehab process.
I truly believe that the way that an athlete acts in the initial stage
of rehab is indicative of how well and how quickly they recover from their
injury. It is so easy to just throw in the towel and think that I just
had surgery so I'm not going to be able to do anything for a long time anyways.
The truth is you can always do something to get better. The
smallest things can make the biggest difference even though it may
not always be apparent at first glimpse.
The initial part of my post surgery rehab process may seem really boring
and not seem like much fun at all. However, I look forward to going to
physical therapy and the time in my day when I get to do my home exercises.
The way I look at it is, I could be sitting around doing nothing and
feeling sorry for myself because I can't play soccer with my teammates or I
could do something about it to change the circumstances that I am
facing. If I want to get back out on the field I need to look at physical
therapy as my practice session. Every exercise I do no matter
how minor is going to have a major impact on my recovery.
Knowing that I am working to make myself healthier and stronger than
before motivates me to get after it every time I go into therapy and makes me
eager to push myself in order to see progress. So just remember to set
the tone from the start. Attack the rehab process and seek to
see improvements each and every day. Take control of your health and
be the reason you are successful.
