What to Expect in your Injury Recovery Journey
We caught up with five athletes from the Brace Community to ask them what tips they'd share with others who are going through the injury recovery process.
Read the great advice below from those who have experienced injury recovery first hand on what recovery techniques helped their injury treatment and management!
Athlete Sport Injury Recovery Advice
1. Sarah Wilson (Skiing)
"Something that really helped me is leaning into my physiotherapy like l used to lean into sports. As an athlete of any level, it is really debilitating to have sports taken away because our lives revolve around it. I found that leaning into physio helped me. By that l mean safely pushing yourself, setting goals, taking the small wins as big wins (because every win is substantial!) and for me l started looking at my PT as if he was my coach! Mentality helps, and once l started looking at PT the way l look at sports, l felt a lot happier and stronger."
2. Pauline Galisson (Soccer)
"Don’t rush it, trust the process. Put some work in everyday even during the tough times, it will only get better! Don’t hesitate to reach out to people and ask questions, because the mental side of this injury is as challenging as the physical one."
3. Dionne Vasmeer (Futsal - Indoor Soccer)
"Rehab is like climbing up a mountain, sometimes bits of the mountain won't be going up all the time. Sometimes you have to go a bit more straight forward or even downwards before going up again. Embrace your anger, sadness, annoyance and everything in between. They're part of your rehab story! There will be light at the end of the tunnel and you'll look back at all of this like a proud parent would look at their child. You'll get stronger, trust me! But it takes time and patience (a loooot of time and patience). And remember, you're not alone! We're in this together!"
4. Hailey Pierce (Lacrosse and Field Hockey)
"A big tip I would give someone beginning their recovery is everyone’s injury is a different story and everyone reaches their own milestones at different times. When I began bending my knee it wasn’t bending as much as other people I have seen. I made a goal for myself to everyday bend a little higher and I took a picture. Before I knew it I had full range of motion within a month of me taking it step by step."
5. Mark Rogers (Football, Runner)
"Have good support around you to help. Interact with others who are at the same stage as you on social media, like Instagram or Facebook. There are some great support networks especially ones who have people who are going through the same, like Brace! It's a long slow progress. Remember you are not alone!"
Click here to read Part 2 of the series Injury Recovery Advice: 6 Top Tips from Recovery Experts!
Remember you can download the free Brace app from our home page to take control of your injury recovery in a positive and connected way!
Want to read more Recovery Stories? Click here to read about Nate's ACL Recovery Journey!