How to come back from injuries
Physical recovery
A lot of people are still in a gung-ho mindset after an injury though so often times people will overstate their ability to recover from a major injury. Unfortunately our bodies don't often need a gung -ho recovery, but a more tempered approach. Having a clear rehabilitation plan from your doctors can give you a sense of control and purpose when you're adjusting to the reality of an injury. A structured path to recovery is not only super reassuring, but it can keep your mental game strong by showing you where you should be. So, let's talk about how to set realistic expectations of your recovery time.
Prepare Realistic Timetables
Establishing achievable short-term and long-term goals can provide motivation and direction. These goals should be specific, measurable, and adapted to your specific injury to maintain progress on your road to recovery. Depending on the injury, staying active within the limits of the injury will go a long way towards keeping you sane and speeding your recovery.
Work with your doctors and physical therapist to understand what you can realistically do with the injuries you have. Your doctor works with a lot of injured patients and probably has a pretty good understanding of a realistic time table for your recovery given your injury. It may not be on your time table, but setting an achievable goal based on what the human body is likely to do rather than what your positivity bias might make you think you can do will set you up much better to keep you out of a nasty pit of despair. Once you are on track with your goals there is still a lot to do once you are cleared for participation.
Start Back Slowly
After you’re cleared for participation make sure you aren’t diving back into Class V. Reinjury is very easy especially if you haven’t been using the part of your body you injured for a while. Even if you were working at a solid class III level before the injury make sure you are taking time to paddle easier class II whitewater first. Start by doing shorter easier sections first a few miles is a good starting point. This sets you up for success in a couple ways
Starting in an easier zone will help you understand how hard you can go since there are always opportunities to make the easy stuff harder
Shorter trips will allow you to gauge your endurance as you are working back up to it.
From there you can start adding either distance or intensity, but it is best not to do both. Adding distance will increase your endurance, but you want to do it on easier water since you will get fatigued. Ratcheting up intensity slowly will allow you to work your way back into harder trips, but you need to keep the distance low because the fatigue will set in quickly.
Mental Recovery
Recovering mentally from a sports injury can be just as challenging as recovering physically. Athletes often invest a significant part of their identity and self-esteem in their sport, so an injury can be emotionally and mentally taxing. Acknowledging the injury and understanding its severity is the hardest step. This can help the athlete come to terms with the situation and reduce denial or frustration. Staying engaged as an injured athlete can be challenging, but it's essential for maintaining a connection to the sport and a positive mindset during the recovery process.
Maintain Engagement
Staying engaged is super hard as you watch your friends do all the fun stuff you want to do, but can’t. I had heart surgery at 29 and went through this process and I can say it sucked to watch everyone go boating while I was standing on shore having trouble walking from the bank to the van. In retrospect though staying engaged was the hardest and most important thing I could do for my recovery though. There are a ton of ways to maintain engagement while you’re recovering from an injury:
Drive Shuttle and Help with Logistics: If possible, be a shuttle bunny. Generally, this is the most difficult part of boating, but being present can help you feel like a part of the team, even if you can't actively participate.
Take photos: Offer support to your boating friends by shooting photos or learning how to use a camera. Your positive presence can boost morale and capture some awesome memories in the process.
Learn and Mentor: Use the time off to deepen your understanding of the sport. Study footage, learn about different strategies, and share your insights with other friends in the sport. Mentoring younger or less experienced boaters can also be fulfilling by setting them up for success with the basics.
Stay in the Community: Showing up to film screenings, festivals, rafting companies you’ve worked at, and if possible, see if folks will row you down an easier section of river. Discuss your progress, challenges, and goals with them so they are aware of your situation and can offer support.
Stay Informed: Keep up to date with developments in the sport, including equipment, trip reports, and the performance of other athletes. Staying informed can help offer a deeper sense of connection to the sport you love even if you can’t actively participate.
Set New Challenges: Identify areas of your skills or physical fitness that you can work on while injured. Seeking medical certifications or even cross training in other sports if your injury allows can unlock new skills that you can apply in your primary sport to help you stay motivated.
Socialize: Spend time with your boating buddies outside of the sporting context. Make time for a game night, cook a meal together, or do something other than your normal activities with those folks can help you maintain strong bonds and a sense of belonging.
Remember that staying engaged during an injury is hard because you may experience moments of frustration or sadness with where you’re at, but this will bass as you recover and become stronger. Having a good support system is also important to make sure you actually enjoy being there. Staying engaged is as much a physical exercise as it is a mental one.
Plan For Set Backs
Training too hard, getting sick, and life in general can throw off your recovery process significantly. With your body in a vulnerable state after a major injury It is easy to reinjure yourself, or sustain another injury in the process of working towards your recovery. There is a strong tendency once a doctor clears you to return to normal activity to jump right back into it the same way you were before and that is when you are most likely to reinjure yourself or injure something else because your body is trying to compensate. Similarly, holidays, special events, or just a cold can throw off your later stage recovery plans. All of these things set back your plans to be 100% again so you need to accept that you will need to take it slowly.
Major injuries require major life changes and one of those changes is that you may spend more time than you want doing the things you love at a slower pace than before. Try to find new ways to enjoy the sports and activities you love so much. You may even need to have other people row you down the river just to get you out on the water more. Here are some tips on boating that can help you maximize other experiences available to you:
Explore more side hikes if your injury allows
Learn more about the geology and bring a geological map as well as some guides to help identify rocks
Research more of the history of a river so you can interact with cultural resources
Go slower down river and bring guides to help you identify wildlife along the way
Develop your cooking skills and help cook for other members of the trip
All of these ideas still allow you to be present on the water while taking things slow on easier rivers to maximize your enjoyment around other aspects of the trip. The more you learn about other parts of the sport the more you become invested in that aspect of the sport.
Practice Diligent Recovery Techniques
One of the hardest parts about the mental game of injury recovery is the post crisis phase where you are no longer regularly seeing doctors, but you are not fully at 100%. Often folks are going through the Physical Therapy process, however when PT runs out is when you get into trouble. Without the constant requirement to go to see a Physical Therapist on a regular basis people have trouble staying on track. This post recovery phase is so critical though since you still have a long way to go before you are back in action. This all comes down to vigilance and dedication, because motivation comes and goes. It’s easy to become unmotivated, but when you condition your mind to stick with it, recovery becomes a scheduled event, so here are some tips to stay on track
Work with your PT to set goals on what you should be achieving after you stop seeing them
Get some guidelines on what you need to work on to recover from your specific injury.
If possible practice other sports which don’t require you to use the injured area.
Set a workout schedule and stick to it
Once you have a clear understanding of what you need to do from your PT and a workout plan it is on you to stick to that. This part is the most difficult because it is on you to make this happen and hold yourself accountable. Setting alarms and reminders in your phone and on your calendar are super helpful ways to start, but you may need more motivation than that. So, some ideas to keep you on track include: getting a workout partner to help you stay on track, getting a gym membership and seeing a trainer regularly, push yourself to go paddling even when you don’t feel like it, and planning trips to different rivers you’ve never seen before.
Everyone's experience is unique, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to mental recovery from an injury. Tailoring strategies to your personal needs and seeking professional guidance when necessary are key steps in the process. Ultimately you have to keep going and don’t give up.
