Are you Hurt or Injured?

“Are you hurt of are you injured?”- I remember being asked this several times throughout my athletics career (all amateur). Being a loaded question, it is asking if you can keep playing or if you cannot continue. However, this typically will cause the athlete to do everything they can to get back in the game. I know when I was in that position, I would try to get back in the game, thinking my team needed me and I was letting them down by not playing. While at the level I was playing, in high school, I was above average, I am now well aware the team would have been fine without me. There are injuries that can be played through, however, the mentality that this question brings will cause people to play through and disregard pain, which is the bodies indicator that something is not as it should be and needs to heal.

This is my why for staying in shape and trying to focus on my health!

I am an example of how this is not a great idea. During my stent playing baseball, football, and basketball, as well as weight lifting, I dealt with a nagging shoulder pain. At one point I was seen and told that I could have my shoulder dealt with when I was done playing sports if I wanted. The pain would be minor at times and flare with wrong movements but I thought I would power through it. Ultimately, I ignored it through college, medical school, residency, fellowship and three years of practicing medicine. It was when my first born was getting old enough to try to teach her how to throw a ball that the pain returned and my shoulder was hurting and popping again. It was time in my mind to finally have it looked at. I went in thinking that it was a torn labrum or rotator cuff strain and could be dealt with now. Unfortunately, I was only partially right. My labrum was torn, but because arthritis in my shoulder. This was likely due to shoulder instability from my torn labrum, causing the bone to wear down. While I just played through it, the joint was now beyond a routine repair. Had I dealt with my shoulder when it was hurting in college, it likely would not have progressed like it has today.

I like to play airplane now instead of throwing or tackling.

But how can you judge when to push through and when not? Honestly, it is best to have a painful joint or body part looked at by a medical provider to make sure it is safe to participate in sport. Sports medicine providers are trained to evaluate injuries and are great at deciding if continuing in sport is advised. I find myself on the opposite side of the equation now in my practice and on the sideline. Players come out to see if they can play and often if the limb isn’t going to fall off, they want back in the game. I have to be the bad guy to hold them out of the game and let their bodies heal, unless I know it is a very minor injury and can be dealt with safely while still playing- but I am thinking long term and not just for the game often.

Blurred to hide faces but this is my view from sideline coverage.

If you’re not making an over a million dollars playing a sport with top notch medical staffing assisting you, it’s best to be safe and back off the activity. Especially as Spring is on the horizon at the timing of this post and people are about to go out and start being more active.

As always be safe and keep moving!