Recovering From Injuries throughout Sports
Every year, millions of teenagers participate in high school sports. An injury to a high school athlete can be a significant setback for the teen and for their future in sports.
Dr. Michael Knapic, an orthopaedic surgeon, explained that he sees high school athletes on almost a daily basis. Most injuries do not require surgery stated Knapic, predicting that less than 2 percent of injuries end up needing surgery. The most common injuries that do end up requiring surgery for Knapic are ACL tears and labral repairs in the shoulder after shoulder dislocation.
Antonio Crossty (12) tore both his ACL and meniscus early in the 2016 football season and will not be fully recovered for another two months. The injury prevented Crossty from playing for the majority of the season, however, it has not held him back or curtailed his hopes to play football in college. After surgery, the rehabilitation process is long and tedious.
“I had to listen to my doctors, listen to my physical therapist and put my trust in them to get me back,” Crossty said.
Injuries can be detrimental to teams and athletes of all sports, preventing them can often be a key aspect of a successful season.
“The main thing that student athletes can do to prevent injuries is to work diligently in their off-season conditioning programs,”Knapic said.
Knapic is also a strong proponent of multi-sport athletes, explaining that they often develop different muscle groups and tend to avoid overuse injury.
Other tips to avoid injury Knapic offered are eating well and getting the proper amount of rest.
While being a multi-sport athlete, Nick Johnston (12) has still been unable to avoid injuries throughout his high school career. Playing baseball and football, Johnston has a long list of injuries in his four years, including bursitis in his right knee freshman year, subluxation (a type of dislocation) in his left shoulder sophomore year, a torn ACL and meniscus junior year and this year, he underwent heart surgery.
Johnston was diagnosed with Aortic Bicuspid Stenosis when he was born and has always known it would affect his athletics. In August of 2016, he was informed that he would not be able to play football or baseball in his final year of high school. Four months later, Johnston went through a successful open-heart surgery and now, once his checkups are passed, is cleared to play in his senior season of baseball.
“Injuries haven’t changed how I approach sports. It’s always been a belief of mine that if you play not to get hurt or play not to mess up then you are going to get hurt and mess up,” Johnston said.
Unable to play in his last two years of football, Johnston’s health has prohibited him from younger aspirations to play football in college. Currently, Johnston continues his rehabilitation from surgery and continues to keep a positive outlook on his future in athletics and academics.
