Athlete Anecdote - Recovery

As a volleyball player, most of my injuries involve my ankles or shoulders/arms. With how often we jump, it’s common to land wrong and either sprain or twist the ankle. After playing this past volleyball season, my left ankle got tight, either from overuse or a previous injury, though I’m not sure. Because of this, I do ten minutes of physical therapy on my ankle every day. I find that physical therapy is immensely helpful in improving my ankle’s flexibility. It also lets me play volleyball for longer periods of time. For volleyball players, another common injury to get is a shoulder injury. In volleyball, a lot of the sport has to do with your arms. Whether you’re hitting the ball, serving it, or setting it, you’re always using your shoulder. I also play lacrosse, which tends to involve a lot of ankle injuries. With the amount of running and dodging involved in the sport, it’s very easy to twist or sprain an ankle. 

With both these sports, I find that it’s very important to stretch before any exercise and also to make sure that your form is correct. For example, in volleyball, if you’re not doing an approach for a hit correctly, it’s more likely for your body to land incorrectly, which could lead to an ankle injury. It’s also very important to stretch before any form of exercise because it loosens up the muscles and makes them more flexible. It’s also very important to do a cool down after exercising. This promotes muscle recovery, which in turn leaves you less sore the next day. One major piece of advice that I've taken away after many seasons of playing sports and could not stress enough is that proper rest is just as important as training -  ignoring pain or even overtraining can lead to setbacks. Don’t feel bad about needing a break, because it’s not just you - your body requires it. Recovery is a very important part of the journey, so take your time and don’t rush it!