When walking around SPASH we’ve all seen someone on crutches or in a boot. More likely than not, their injury was due to playing sports. Not all injuries are visible to everyone, though, every athlete has been in pain, whether it be a sprain, strain, dislocation, or just being sore. If you are an athlete who’s been injured, ask yourself, is this a result of playing sports or would it have happened regardless? According to Stanford Medicine, “one-third of all teens injuries are caused by playing sports…” In other words, SPASH athletes are more likely to face an injury than non-athletes.

Sprains and Strains 

I interviewed Jacob Bellin, a lacrosse player who experienced one of the most common injuries. Jacob Bellin stated, “ I sprained my tailbone while playing lacrosse.”
He also outlined the struggles of his recovery by stating” I had to sit on a donut pillow[medical device to relieve stress on the tailbone] for three months. He also endures lasting effects from the injury, he shared that when he sits for extended periods of time, he feels discomfort. According to medlineplus.gov “strains are common while playing sports…”Opposed to clevelandclinic.org saying “tailbone injuries are uncommon during everyday life…” In other words, Jacobs’s injury was not likely due to him playing sports because tailbone injuries are uncommon daily.

Broken Bones

I also interviewed Simon Bienvenue, a former SPASH hockey player. Simon stated,” I broke my collarbone while playing hockey…” He also shared ”I had to wear a sling for 3 weeks and had to take a break from sports for 8 weeks…” He also had lasting effects from the injury, such as mild lasting discomfort after shooting guns. According to “pubmed.gov” collarbone injuries are very common in everyday life but are slightly more common in sports. In other words, Simons’s injury was more likely to have occurred because of sport participation.

How to Heal

The worst part about getting injured is having to sit out until you are healed.
There are some tips you can implement to heal faster. According to the University of Utah, health “tendon strains and bone fractures are two of the five most common sports injuries…” According to kimshealth.org [a hospital’s blog] “Supplementing calcium and magnesium can have positive effects for bone healing…” kimshealth.org also claimed “ taking drugs such as ibuprofen could slow down the healing of broken bones…” In other words, you can supplement minerals to help heal faster. In addition to limiting your ibuprofen consumption, because it limits blood flow to broken bones, you need blood flow to heal.

Taking everything into account, SPASH athletes are more likely to be injured than non-athletes. This is supported by Stanford Medicine saying sports injuries make up one-third of all teen injuries that are sports-related. It is important to remember that taking ibuprofen is not a good idea for healing. With that being said, sports are an excellent way to make friends and stay active as long as you’re careful.