Sports are a big part of many peoples lives, however, sometimes playing sports come with unfortunate occurrences. Sport injuries are the leading cause of the setbacks, surgeries, and rehabilitation athletes have to go through every year. Leaving many athletes devastated and even timid to return to what they love, it is important to make sure athletes take care of their bodies to prevent sport injuries. If an athlete is playing timid the chance of getting reinjured increases.
There are many different statistics with sport injuries, especially with the number of children and adolescents participating in sports. That number is hitting nearly 30 million in the United States and it will continue to grow as more young men and women are participating in sports. With more and more students playing sports, naturally the amount of injuries will increase. According to “Surprising Statistics About Injuries In High School Sports,'' “High school athletes alone account for an estimated 2 million injuries as well as 500,000 doctor visits and 30,000 hospitalizations each year. In fact, of all sport-related injuries treated in hospitals, children aged 5 to 14 account for nearly 40% of injuries.” It is scary hearing that kids who are very young and aren’t even through middle school go to the hospital for playing youth sports.
The impact that these injuries have on kids and even adults can often be traumatizing. Returning from an injury at 100% is a great feeling for athletes, but no matter what, that part of the body is never the same, as effects from an injury can become long term. Here in Lowellville High School, we have had many injuries, most revolving around the knees and legs. Senior Alex Modelski has had multiple surgeries for his right ACL joint from just his first two years of high school football injuries. He has been through a lot of therapy in order to return to all of his sports his junior and senior year. Alex talked about how injuries have a big affect on mental health and the importance of overcoming it to get stronger. Alex Modelski said, “My mental health played a role in my surgery and months of therapy. If you overcome that mental block you will be fine. After the second time tearing my ACL I never thought I could come back to sports, but I kept in therapy and got my head straight.”
Alex ended up taking a year off from football to play basketball, another sport that he loves to do. Because it is his senior year he decided to play football again and he is doing fantastic on the field! Injuries and recovery will be hard at the moment but with the proper care, time, and patience, returning to a sport you love will be rewarding.