A look back on the top injury recovery stories and expert rehabilitation tips shared during the year.
As we close off on 2022 and start fresh into a new year, we're taking a look back at the inspiring stories and enlightening insights shared by our athlete and expert community over the past twelve months!
Included below are links to each post, alongside a brief summary, in case you missed it during the year or want to revisit a former favourite! And if you want to feature in our 2023 review make sure to follow the instructions at the end!
Remember, you can access all this great content, alongside recovery tracking, progress metrics, trophies and rewards, and forums and social feeds, in the Brace App for free! So if you're recovering from an injury or are a practitioner supporting clients in the process, make sure to download the free Brace app from our home page, to take control of the injury recovery journey in a positive and connected way!
But first, lets take a look back on 2022:
Injury Recovery Journeys
During the year, we shared seven individual athlete's stories of the recovery process. Through ups and downs, milestones and setbacks, each gave an honest look at the challenges of the recovery process, and we thank all of them for their candid take on the recovery journey. Well done for all your resilience and determination in the process and we wish you all the best for the journey ahead!
Sarah Parker
Sarah is a soccer player from Vancouver, Canada, who in the final season of her university career suffered a serious knee injury. In this piece, she talks about overcoming the physical and mental challenges of injury recovery, the importance of trying to maintain a positive mindset, and how peer connection can help during the recovery process.
Carrie Jackson Cheadle
Carrie is a Mental Skills Coach and Certified Mental Performance Consultant who lives in Northern California, USA. In this piece Carrie shares details of her own injury journey, which occurred following a ski accident, and talks about the importance of knowing you're not alone.
Nate Steiner
Nate is a multi-sport athlete from Kentucky, USA, who has competed at national and collegiate level across kickboxing, pole-vaulting and American Football. In this inspiring piece, he talks about the physical and mental challenges of overcoming a serious knee injury and how he's using the lessons learned to pursue his latest ambitious goal.
Byron Jamar Terry
Byron is an athlete, mental health advocate, writer and coach from Georgia, USA. In this post he talks candidly about the challenges that can arise when you become tied to the athlete identity, and the importance of always remembering you are more than sports.
Joaquin Bembhy
Joaquin is a rugby player from Buenos Aires, Argentina. In this honest piece, he discusses the sense of belonging that comes from playing sport and being a part of a team, the challenges that a serious injury brings on, and the power of self-motivation in the recovery journey.
Elanor Finch
Elanor is an Australian ultra runner, amateur endurance cyclist and Australian Football League (AFL) player. In this piece, Elle details the mental challenges she faced during rehabilitation after breaking her ankle, the consistent emotional responses she found from other athletes experiences, and the importance of remaining connected during the process.
Kirsten Alexis
Kirsten is an outdoor adventure enthusiast based in California, USA. Her many activities include martial arts, skydiving, surfing, paddle-boarding, snowboarding, skiing and high altitude mountain trekking - from which she suffered a knee injury as part of her Seven Summits attempt. In this honest piece, Kirsten shares how she has had to adjust to a slower pace of life, the challenge of controlling the mind, the promises she's made to herself, and the adventures she hopes to return to.
Want More Athlete Injury Recovery Advice?
We asked other members of the Brace Community, currently in the rehabilitation process, for their advice to others on approaching the recovery journey.
Expert Insights on Injury Rehabilitation
Throughout 2022, we also shared incredibly valuable advice and guidance from six industry experts to help support people with the physical and mental challenges of the recovery process. Thank you to all our experts for the brilliant pieces they put together to help support people in their rehabilitation journey!
Sports Injury Related Growth & Development
Coral-Jade Oakley
Coral-Jade is a fitness ambassador at the University of Winchester with degrees in Applied Sports Science and Applied Sports Psychology. In this piece she discusses the concept of Sports Injury Related Growth and the importance of Emotional Disclosure during the recovery process.
Coping with Injury - Challenge or Threat?
Scott Gunning
Scott Gunning is a Sport and Exercise Psychologist, registered with the British Psychological Society. In this excellent piece, he discusses how adopting a "challenge appraisal" view to your injury leads to a number of positive benefits and lays out a step by step guide of techniques for doing this.
Transitioning Through Prolonged/ Career Ending Injury
Kat Williamson
Kat's therapy clients are athletes navigating the mental components of injury recovery or transition out of sport. In this piece, she explores these stages of transition, why it's understandable to feel grief, anxiety and fear, and how recognising this can lead to positive development.
Mental and Physical Breaks from ACL Rehab
Mick Hughes
Mick is the co-founder of Learn.Physio and an APA titled Sports & Exercise Physiotherapist. In this post he shares an important reminder for people in the process of ACL recovery that you should be sure to include in your discussions with your physiotherapist.
Overcoming the Mental Side of Sports Injuries
Keagen Hadley
Keagen holds a deep understanding of the recovery process, from his professional experience in Occupational Therapy, and as an athlete who suffered ACL injuries to both knees. He discusses the mental challenges of injuries and tips for overcoming these.
Lessons from Athlete Recovery Journeys
Jess Cunningham
Jess is a Sports and Exercise Physiotherapist with extensive experience working in elite and professional sport in Australia and overseas. In this post, she shares how her experience as physio to two athletes during difficult injuries in the build up to the Olympics showed her the importance of sharing athlete experiences with injury recovery. The post also provides valuable snippets of advice from other elite athletes for approaching the recovery process.
Want More Expert Insights on Injury Rehabilitation?
We asked other top experts from the Brace Community for simple tips they'd give people to support them in the recovery process.
Stay tuned for what's to come in 2023!
That brings us to a close on all the great stories and insights from 2022! We look forward to sharing lots more relevant, supportive and inspiring content to help with the recovery process in the year ahead.
If you're going through the recovery process (or have been through it before) and would like to share your story, we'd love to hear from you! Similarly, if your an expert who'd like to feature a post to support people with managing their rehabilitation journey let us know! You can reach out through the contact form on the home page, on our instagram page or by emailing conor@bracesocial.com.
And don't forget to download the free Brace app to take control of your recovery journey in a positive and supported way! We've lots of great updates coming in 2023!
Finally, Happy New Year to all of the Brace Community and best of luck for everything to come in 2023 - let's hit all those recovery goals together!