Head Athletic Trainer Madissen Davis commonly sees athletes pushing themselves through pain and injury and finds it ultimately results in more detrimental long-term health consequences. Athletes are urged to recognize the health risks associated with overworking during recovery.
“The number one thing I see is people harm themselves by aggressively stretching an injury, which in most cases causes microtears or complete tears and delays healing,” Davis said. “Also, icing is often overused, and excessive or prolonged use can actually slow the body’s natural healing process by limiting necessary inflammation and blood flow.”
For junior Elle Mayrosh, the recovery process has been far from simple. After breaking her ankle during cross country season and having surgery in the fall of 2025, coming back to sports from this injury has been difficult as she navigates conflicting guidance from multiple mentors. Ankle strength plays an important role in both track and cross country, and a lack of it can affect balance and running ability. Yet, for many athletes who have strong emotional ties to their sport, it becomes difficult to disappoint others with absence.
“My coaches and physical therapist do not always agree on things,” Mayrosh said. “It’s hard to challenge authority when they have opposing views, and the expectation from my coaches is to be running as much as possible.”
In addition to pressure from coaches, athletes may experience a loss of identity that contributes to the rush to return from an injury. Sophomore Jill Teinert felt a strong identity shift after tearing her ACL playing basketball in the summer of 2024. While mentally and physically dealing with a long recovery period that ranged from six to 12 months, Teinert found it important to find herself again in new, unique activities like playing guitar and weightlifting whenever possible.
“You really have to build an identity outside of sports,” Teinert said. “I had to keep myself away from basketball completely, and then I just pivoted to certain hobbies to keep my mind occupied while recovering.”
Myths like ‘if you can move it, it must not be broken’ also contribute to returning to sports too quickly.
“Commonly, athletes often resist modifying their activity, whether they’re dealing with a potential injury or transitioning back after one.” Davis said. “Many high school athletes continue participating in physical activity despite being in pain rather than following recommendations to modify, often due to peer pressure and not wanting others to think they’re taking the easy way out.”
Recovery remains an essential process, one which should not go overlooked by any athlete regardless of the injury. Consulting a doctor or physical therapist or simply just resting can prevent athletes from prolonging their injuring. Any kind of extensive pain, no matter how small, is something to be addressed.
“Take the recovery day-by-day,” Teinert said. “Some pain is normal with any sport, but you want to realize the problem so you can address it. You always want to get to ideally the point of no pain so you can perform at your best.”
