Are You Coming Back from a Soccer Injury?
Injuries are part of the game. That’s just how it goes. When you are injured, before trying to get back on the field, it’s always a good idea to consult with a doctor or physical therapist about a healing plan.
Dev K. Mishra, a physician for the U.S. Soccer Federation breaks the recovery process into several phases:
The Injury Event — “One of the most important things to do at the time of injury is to not get up and attempt to keep on playing….If you suspect you're hurt, notify your coach or trainer and get evaluated. You're not helping yourself or your team by trying to play while injured.”
Evaluation & Diagnosis — Going to a doctor for a treatment and rehabilitation plan.
Dealing with Psychological issues — “It’s normal to be upset,” but Mishra says, “try and ‘let it go,’ and understand that an injury occurred, understand that treatment will almost always get you successfully back to play, and understand that it will take some time to get back.”
Treating the Injury — Healing the injured part can take days to weeks.
Rehabilitating the Injury — “For many injuries, we've learned over the years that early involvement by a physical therapist speeds up return to play.”
Conditioning to Return to Play — “Getting yourself match fit will take a few more weeks (or even months if you've been out a long time).”
Once you’ve rehabilitated, you’ll want to keep these things in mind as you look to return to the pitch.
You Can Still Be Productive. You want to pay attention to your body’s signals. But being in an ankle boot, for instance, doesn’t have to derail all of your training efforts. You could still be spending time developing your overall core and physical strength. This will help you feel more involved and actively engaged in recovery too.
You’re Not Going to Be the Same Player. Not to start at least. When you’ve been off training for a few weeks, you notice a difference. Even if you’re not injured, say it’s the winter break, you may come back to the field a little slower on your touch or breathing a little harder when you run. So, you’ve got to expect there’s going to be a transition period when you come back to soccer after a recovery period for an injury.
Take Your Time. You missed soccer — dearly. That’s great. But you can’t rush back into things. You may end up hurting yourself all over again. Be patient. Yes, your team missed you, but they want you back healthy. Ramp up the time you spend on practice gradually. If you push too hard at the start, you could end up missing even more games by injuring another part of your body or making your old injury flare up.
Be Confident. That injury hurt! You may remember how it happened and be worried about re-injuring yourself. You don’t want to feel that pain again. But if you come back to practice and playing on the field focused on avoiding injury, you won’t have the same focus on helping your team. Your decision-making under pressure could suffer too.
Keep Your Mental Game Strong. It’s easy to get frustrated when your body isn’t doing what it used to do right away. You can feel guilty about having been injured in the first place. You may find that you feel a little out of step with the rest of the team. Don’t let these changes get the better of you. Try to remain positive. Think optimistically. Avoid making comparisons between the “old you” and the “new you.” Your post-injury self is only the current you. Remember, if you stick with it, you’ll be able to get back in the game the way you love to play it in the long term.
Pay Attention to Progress. Yes, it’s going to be hard. And motivation can be difficult when everyone else on the team seems to be playing so much stronger and faster. Just remain confident that your skills and fitness will come back. It helps to pay attention to small victories. You did better in that passing drill. You were faster than the week before. You made that great touch in front of the net to let your striker score. The incremental progress adds up to you returning to your true soccer form.
Your rehabilitation process is going to be individual to you and your injury. Everyone wants to get back out to play again, but take care and be smart about returning to the pitch. Your coaches and teammates want you back. But they want you back healthy and safe!
