Physical injures do tend to be a nuisance – some of them mean being tied to a bed for a number of days, others adjusting to crutches, but what is certain is that they really are an inconvenience. When you’re a professional athlete, however, even the injuries that require just a couple of days of rest can turn harmful to your career, while the more serious ones sometimes require serious job description reconsideration.
Prone to Injury
Why are athletes so susceptible to getting hurt? Aren’t they supposed to be even more resistant then the rest of the mortal world? Aren’t their ligaments tighter, muscles stronger, keeping everything in place, what with all the exercise? While the last may be true, keep in mind that the chances of ending up hurt grow, as one spends more time dedicated to some physical activity. Furthermore, while non-athletes tend to break a sweat during their workout sessions, it is expected of a sportsman to almost always utilize a 100% of their energy during practice. 100% energy means 100% willpower, so you can imagine how depressive and mentally devastating even the smallest of injuries can turn out to be for those chiseled from stone. In addition, this – sports, isn’t just a hobby, for them, it’s a way of life, so living in fear of getting hurt takes its toll.
Common Career-Assassins
- Knees – Right at the top of the list, an injury related to most of the popular sports, the torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) has brought death upon many an athlete’s career. Most common in football, soccer and basketball, this occurs due to the frequent change in directions while moving on the field or court. Responsible for providing most of our bodies’ stability, the ACL gets weakened as a result of perpetual running, making it more susceptible to injury. An NBA star Alvin Williams was one of torn ACL’s victims and was never able to get back to form.
- Fractured vertebrae – While perhaps not as common as the knee trauma, this injury is a sports career death sentence. When Kevin Everett suffered the mentioned trauma, not only was his career abruptly ended, but his ever walking again was brought into question. Luckily, he has since made a full recovery. Even though he would never play football again, Kevin remains thankful that he can at least lead a normal life.
- Pectoral muscle – According to NFL rumors, this is one of the most common football injuries. It seems that almost every season, there’s at least a couple of NFL athletes that are forced into an unwanted vacation with torn pectoral muscles. Both Phil Loadholt and Brandon Fusco were placed on injured reserve in relation to this injury last season, severely crippling Minnesota’s frontlines.
- Severe concussion – every NHL player’s nightmare, this boogeyman is an injury that impacts the lives of athletes on the personal level too. Potentially damaging for vision, causing memory loss and that of motor functions on the long term, this one’s not to be underestimated. Former Devil’s backbone Scott Stevens was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome and pushed into early retirement back in 2004.
Consequences
After sustaining serious injuries, doctor’s bills aren’t the only ailment of the athletes’ pocket. Severe physical trauma that tends to have psychological impact is not a thing to mess around with. One cannot be a sports star without pushing through the 99% power barrier and this means everyday risks. The only thing they can hope for is going out in glory and at least not ending up injured during game practice.
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