At Los Banos High School, we all know athletes get injured, but do we truly know how deep their injuries go?
At first sight, the injury may not seem that big, yet they can affect an athlete’s whole athletic career. The student athletes Melina Mejia (12), Samantha Carter (11), and Mikayla Mendoza (12) have had serious injuries this year that can change everything for them when it comes to returning to the sport they love.
In high school sports, the website, John Hopkins Medicine, reports that athletes get injured 2 million times alone, with 500,000 doctor visits and 30,000 hospitalizations annually. The site also said that most students get injuries to their head, face, ankle, and knee, and often fractures hold the biggest percentage of being part of an injury having a 3.5% of being common in injuries.
One extreme injury for a student is a torn ACL and meniscus. Senior tennis player Melina Mejia was seriously injured playing basketball; she had hyperextended her knee, landing incorrectly on the floor. Mejia is currently in physical therapy and has to be in physical therapy for three months. This amount of time away from sports cannot only delay her progress, but completely rid her of any advantages she had before. Mejia stated, “I’m worried about trusting my knee again and doing the same movements. I feel more cautious now because of my injury.”
Samantha Carter (11) spoke about her mental struggle she suffered while healing from a dislocated kneecap. “One of my mental struggles was my confidence and knowing I wasn’t able to play anymore, so I was constantly down.”
Carter has always been passionate about her sports and with playing for such a long time, this injury had really affected her. “I was kind of bummed because I was one of the main players on the team, so not being able to play with my team really hurt, and knowing I couldn’t be there for them had made me lose motivation to play.”
The recovery process can be a long and difficult time. Mikayla Mendoza (12) had injured herself by tearing her meniscus and dislocated her knee. Despite her injury, she had already made a plan to get back on the game. “Following doctors orders and going along with the healing process is how I plan to get back on my feet.”
Not only do athletes have to think about their current issues but have to consider what to do after healing as well as if they’ll even be able to play the same after. “I’m not at the 100% I used to play at anymore, ” said Mendoza.
Student injuries are serious topics that can lead to long term issues whether physical or mental. Playing a sport might be fun and it may look challenging at times, but in an instant, injuries can occur that last a lifetime.
