Injured Athlete
By Tom Donnelly, Sales Manager, Seattle, WA

You are going to your right plant your foot to move to the left; your right foot doesn't rotate with your body and you hear the sickening pop, feel the pain and know the knee is gone before you hit the ground.

The first thoughts are, Oh God not the knee, and will I be able to continue to play.

It is totally irrational to think of your athletic career at a time like this but you have been involved in sports at some level most of your life and your sport fills a very important part of your life; so, logic be damned you don't want this part of your life to end.

You may be a professional athlete whose livelihood depends upon your ability to perform well or you could be a weekend warrior who really enjoys the game and the camaraderie of the sport.

For the professional athlete the injury could mean the end of life as you have known it and all the hard work and sacrifice has gone by the wayside and a new way of life has to begin. Hopefully the doctors and trainers can patch you together sufficiently to play some more but the fear nags that you will be a step slower and someone will take your place. Mood swings begin, relationships go to hell, and your entire focus in life is beating the injury and getting back on the field.

What if you can't make it back or this injury just will not let you? What now?

For the weekend warrior or the dedicated amateur the injury probably will not get the same level of care the pro will get and you are on your own for the doctors visits and rehab. The job and family each must sacrifice for your recovery and your concentration on both is diminished to an extent.

You may be able to make it back into the game, but at what cost? Can you afford to be injured again? Can your family and job afford another round of treatments and rehab?

If you have to hang it up what do you do to replace the sport you love and the friends built around it?

In either the professional or weekend warrior's case the social life built around the sport is going to be gone. Yeah I know everyone says you will still be part of the team and you will hang around for a while. In the beginning people are concerned but tend to shy away because they don't want to see their vulnerability in you. Later you tend to drift away because you are no longer part of the action. A spectator can't share discussions of great plays and funny stories so you drift away.

Welcome to depression city!

You might not recognize it as depression but think back. Your relationship with your loved ones the same? Temper getting a bit short? Become driven about work or other things? Not sleeping real well? Well those are some fairly good signs of depression.

While the active athlete has the support of their peers and access to performance enhancing sports therapists, the injured athlete is by themselves and usually has to go through this loss alone.

There is a growing recognition that these injured athletes need to deal with their loss of ability and support group.

" The injured athlete must go through a grief and loss process much as someone who has lost a loved one", Ms Parker has noted. While going through a grief and loss cycle one does not notice how they are being affected by the experience and does not realize the damage the grieving process is having upon both business and personal relationships.

While working in conjunction with physicians and physical therapists to assist the athlete in their recovery, Ms. Parker also prepares and councils the athlete to assist them in recovering from the depression caused by the loss of their abilities and support group.

Therapists, such as Ms. Parker, can help the athlete through the process, help them accept a diminished level of skills and if they have to give up the sport altogether assist in the transition into a new life style with other interests and support groups.

The message is that although your body will heal to an extent, your mental wellbeing needs attention also.

Me I took up bicycling.