I work with athletes and it's actually crazy how little fans know about the strain that they put on their bodies. We always try to keep things light in treatment because otherwise no one can really handle it but sometimes it's rough. Like when an athlete is in denial of the injury and you have to burst their bubble every day, or when you get a 12 year old going for their 3rd ACL surgery. And the worst part is that they really love their sport, it's not just I can't do my job it's their whole identity, their hobby and all their friends so they get really down when they are out. Then on the other side of it are the joys of the job, the first time they get to run, touch th ball, the first game back. And that's a really weird time for both sides because the athlete is really happy, anxious to go back and at the same time slightly worried/scared and from the medical side it's the sam thing you get really happy but also really anxious about everything going well. Nika's PT will suffer whe she goes back because she loves taking a charge, lunging head first for loose balls and generally getting into physical stuff, those time are hell in the 1st week, specially the carges because in your head it's just "please get up" in a loop and they are taking their sweet time to make sure the ref calls the foul ehile you're going crazy with every scenario.
My friend was studying to be an AT and I remember she told me that one of the hardest parts when working with athletes is the mental toll it takes on them. These people pride themselves on their physical ability and they are passionate about constantly moving and staying physical. Plus their routine is built on exercise and practice so when someone is going through rehab/treatment and part of it is not running every morning they go a little stir crazy. She told me it’s frustrating for athletes because they get so restless doing rehab or feel like they are missing out or feel like because they aren’t getting better then it means they are getting worse.
And physical therapy is also just boring. I hurt my knee when I was younger and I hated physical therapy because it was just repetitive exercises and stretches that bored the crap out of me. And when I did get better and I joined the basketball team my knee would keep swelling up, I ran slower than I used to, I was in pain after practice, so many angry tears shed in the bathroom cuz I felt behind. It sucked.
And when I played tennis, I finally felt healthy enough to not worry about my knee anymore. And it took one misstep and I was back in square one. I remember clutching my knee in pain infront of everyone being so embarrassed that it happened again. I went the entire season with 0 wins and I just gave up and I never went back to playing basketball or tennis. It really demoralized me. And that’s just me, so imagine a professional athlete having to go through that times 20 cuz of the pressure and media attention they get.
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