Every athlete at one time or another has sustained an injury of sorts. From sprained ankle to torn ACL you can find them all.
The girls on the track team here at PLHS are no strangers to injury. You could ask anyone of them and they could list off the injuries they’ve had.
One of those runners is sophomore Layla Phillips who has had several injuries over her 2 going on 3 years of track.
“I’ve had shin splints and massive heel pain,” Phillips, who runs the 200m, 400m, 100m and 300m hurdles on varsity, said. “[The injuries] were severe enough that I couldn’t go to state in 8th grade.”
While having injuries is hard, some might say that recovering from injuries is harder.
“Being able to rest it and over time they just healed,” Phillips said. “But also stretching and I go to physical therapy now.”
Recovery can come easy to some but others, such as sophomore Abbagayle Ward had a harder time recovering.
“I tore my groin really bad once,” Ward, who runs 100 and 200m sprints, said. “I made it worse by continuing to run on it.”
Playing a sport is often said to be a mental game and recovering from serious injuries is one thing that will impact it.
“[My injury] made me feel bad cause I had really bad times,” Ward said. “I wasn’t as fast as I could be.”
When lots of athletes start dropping out due to injuries, it’s important for the coaches to help prevent possible or recurring injuries before and during the season.
“They [the coaches] teach us the right way to stretch after workouts,” Phillips said. “We [stretch] everyday during track.”
When one runner has an injury it can affect them and the whole team too. The support of your teammates can make all the difference in your recovery.
“Track is a huge community,” Phillips said. “It’s hard to see other people have to stop during practice because they have calf cramps or other things that make it so they can’t run.”
Knowing that others have been through the same pain is a huge helper to recover from injuries.
“It’s always smart if it does hurt, don’t keep trying to push it,” Phillips said. “Just stop. It’s ok. Ice it, roll it out, put heat on it. It’s going to help a lot.“
Whether it’s a tear or a sprain, remember to be careful and know that there are others who have experienced the same thing.