Injury & Sport: Moving Forward- by Christina MacDougall
If you do sport, chances are good that at some point you’ll face an injury. Oftentimes due to no fault at all on your part and many times due to circumstances completely outside your control. I found myself in just that situation in the fall of 2020 after a bike accident left me with a shattered collarbone. My shattered collarbone required surgery and months of rehab and healing time. But no matter what the cause, an injury is an injury. And going from having my best ever ride at the time to being in the ER the next day was rough - as much mentally as physically. We all get injured at some point, and while we cannot always control/prevent that, I’ve learned a lot about focusing on what we can control. What we can do. And most importantly how we can move forward. Hopefully what I learned can be helpful to those reading this! If you don’t remember anything else from this, the one thing I hope you do remember is that you can control your attitude and how you approach your recovery.
Once I figured out the medical/surgical treatment plan, Marilyn and I talked and came up with a "getting back to it" plan. I cannot stress enough the importance of setting up a plan that focuses on what you CAN DO NOW. Not what you could do, or what you will do in the future, or what you WANT to do (this one is important - stay focused in reality)…but truly focusing on what you CAN DO. Admittedly, it was hard. It was hard to think about the upcoming weeks of stationary biking, of months of walking and no running. Of no swimming at ALL for an uncertain amount of time - and all of this when I had just found an open water swim (OWS) group after months of no swimming due to the pandemic and pool closures. Thinking about that cumulatively was daunting and had I focused on all that I couldn’t do, it would have been overwhelming. Fortunately, and with Marilyn’s expert guidance, I realized early on in this process thinking about everything cumulatively was just not productive. So we focused on what I could do. I could stationary bike, so let’s get after that. I could walk. Eventually I could walk up and down stairs. I could do a little each day, and each day a little more, and each week even a little more. I could push myself walking (speed walking is some solid work if you push yourself!). I could walk farther. I could walk upstairs longer. I could walk even faster. I decided each day to focus on what I could do that day, was it a little more than the day before, and how could I execute it best to get me where I wanted to be (including focusing on my mental attitude). Relentless forward progress. Not flashy or social media worthy, but just solid, steady progression.
Each morning I woke-up and did a self check-in:
How am I feeling today?
Where am I at?
What are the goals of today’s plan?
Am I approaching today’s plan with the correct mental attitude?
Am I doing well on my physical therapy and giving that as much attention as I would a key workout in a race preparation build?
What can I do today to set me up for tomorrow?
Taking the process one day at a time made it all much more manageable and way less overwhelming. At first the changes were small - can I reach my back pocket? (Yes, that’s a real thing for anyone who hasn’t experienced a collarbone injury.) If I had focused on thinking about how was I ever going to swim again when I couldn’t even move my arm level with my shoulder, that would have done nothing to help get the mobility back in my shoulder but would’ve rather just led to being overwhelmed with everything. Instead I focused on approaching my PT with as much effort as I would track intervals - with focus and determination.
Was every day perfect? Absolutely not. Some days I was just downright miserable. Whenever those thoughts/days came, I would try to refocus and say OK, today is not a good day - let me accept that, but what can I do to make it productive in some way? Maybe today I can’t stomach walking up and down more stairs - so maybe adjust and walk outside and get some sunshine/fresh air. Some days were just nope, today I need a break. But after a day like that, I would wake up the next day and start my self check-in: reminding myself that one day does not determine the next. Each day is a fresh start and a new place to evaluate and make decisions.
As the days progressed, I got more and more mobility and strength. I got upgraded from the stationary bike to the trainer. I got to start running a little - although very easy. Each day a little better, a little more progress. More daily check-ins. Finally I was cleared to swim!!! And just like that I was back to a more regular training schedule and chasing big goals. I was finally cleared to bike outside - which admittedly took me a long time to get to and which I still struggle with a bit mentally - so I’m still a work in progress.
While I’m not going to say that getting hit was a good thing, it definitely made me appreciate every single workout. I certainly complain less and remind myself that I’m thankful to be healthy enough to push myself in a hard workout! I also still try to implement my self check-in and
We almost all like a happy ending, and this one has that - the year after my injury I did my longest OWS swim ever and almost 1 year to the day (5 days before the one year mark) - I did my first century ride. On the roads, not closed, and it was amazing and terrifying. Hard, for sure (mentally and physically), but amazing. As athletes we push ourselves to do hard and awesome things - and injury/recovery are part of that journey. While we all seek to minimize injury, having tools to help deal with injury when it inevitably happens can help us deal with it and move forward. Hopefully these thoughts are helpful to anyone reading this!