Dealing with Injuries

***Photo Slideshow Posted*** if you have photos you would like added to the slideshow please email me or set up a picasa album.

Received an email today from Sarah Millar '11 who has been battling a back injury since last spring. Sarah mentioned that she had her cortisone shot today and was resting comfortably waiting for it to take effect - I hope that if you get a chance you'll give her a shout of encouragement.

At some point, all of us will face an injury that impacts our workouts, our performances, and our daily lives. As rowing is a non-contact sport, and many of you are new to it, you don't necessarily expect that injuries are relatively normal. High incidences of ACL tears in soccer and basketball, stress fractures in track and field, shoulder injuries in baseball, and concussions in football are all somewhat expected. Rowers could be a lot better at understanding that injuries are an expected AND challenging hurdle to face. How we respond and deal with those injuries as individuals and as a team are absolutely critical.

Think about where you might fall on the following sliding scale of athlete injury response -
Selling yourself short - Cautious - Appropriate response - Risk-taking - Reckless.

Where do you fall? Do you have any tips for dealing with injuries in the past? Please share your comments!