Comebacks from Injuries: Who Gets Better & Who Gets Worse?
The injured athlete who takes time off returns to their sport the same, worse, or better. Which one are you, and how do you control it?
Pictured: 🇦🇺 Athlete and full BioKnee patient Gzim Z. fully committed to his rehab program in his first year after his operation
Just as every athlete is different, every injury is also unique. In our minds, there is no such thing as a “standard” injury or a “routine” surgery. The way the tissue is torn; the associated bone injuries; the potency of their healing; the amount of blood flow; the tendency to form scar tissue; the activity of their stem cells; the relationship of their diet to their healing potential; their mental attitude before and during injury; their previous history of injuries; the resources available to help them; the expectations surrounding them; the amount of money, fame or future contracts on the line; their understanding of both the injury and the rehab program; their friends and peers and competitors who have had the same injury; the drugs and supplements they take; their parental and spousal support — all of these variations, amongst a million others small and large, make each athlete unique and our job fascinating.
Some of these factors are unchangeable, but many can be optimized. The trick here is to convince each athlete to see his or her injury as an opportunity to become fitter, faster, and stronger than they have been in years. Those who do see their healing process that way — and use all of our resources to not just recover but to excel — do their best. Our job is to help every injured person see themselves as an athlete in training, rather than a patient in rehab. The recovery process becomes a tightly managed progression. It begins with healing goals set for the injured part of their body, followed by full-on training and fitness techniques for all the uninjured parts, starting on day one after injury or surgery. The resources the athlete and their team bring to that specific injury and repair technique often determine the rate and ultimate success of recovery.
This brings us to timing. Why does it still take a year to come back from many injuries such as ACL ruptures, Achilles tears, and rotator cuff shoulder tears? All of these are collagen-based tissues that the body remodels over the course of time, usually within 12 months. With the new era of anabolic therapies, growth factors, and stem cells to promote healing, we should be able to accelerate collagen maturation. And we can — as long as we perform robust surgical repairs, augment them with the latest stimulants, and engage with our patients to help them see themselves as we do: unique works-in-progress able to reach previously unimaginable goals.
The question of who gets “better than ever” — and who goes in the other direction — is determined by the creativity and engagement of the patient, the rehab team, and the doctors, as much as by everything else.
