What Do I Do if My Child Was Injured Playing Sports?

Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest on our TV screens during a major NFL game was dramatic and shocking, mainly because we tend to think of young athletes as being at the peak of their physical strength and fitness. However, athletic injuries are extremely common, especially in contact sports. About 12 million young athletes suffer a sport-related injury every year.

Sadly, the chances that a young athlete will return to sport after a significant injury are only about 55 percent. What's been found is that young people simply don’t recover well, psychologically, about half of the time, at least not enough to wish to put themselves through the same draining recovery experience again.

This is, of course, very different in professional sports, where athletes are highly paid to return again and again after injuries.

But how do you convince your child to try again if they have been hurt? How do you get them to love the sport after they’ve had to recover and lost crucial time in their athletic career? How do you convince them it’s all worth it? Perhaps most importantly: should you?

Studies have widely documented that a sports injury results in psychological distress, including shock, guilt, anger, anxiety, and sadness. Many athletes struggle with anxiety, depression, sleep problems, panic attacks, mood swings, and even PTSD following a severe injury during a critical game or practice.

When an athlete’s entire identity is tied to the sport, we can predict higher psychological distress, especially with an injury requiring longer rehabilitation.

Factors, such as optimism, resilience, social and family support, and motivation to recover have been found to improve those chances.

At the same time, the fear of reinjury, guilt about letting the team down, impatience, withdrawal from the team, and the denial of an injury's severity all predict worse recovery and less chance of returning to sport.

Tips for parents on recovery

Provide emotional comfort. This is not the time to be “tough” but rather the time to focus on emotions. Discuss the fears, the anxiety, the sadness, the guilt.

Address the trauma of the injury. Almost all athletes I meet describe how traumatic it was to be seriously injured. Coaches will often encourage the players to keep going after the injury, not to focus on the pain. Athletes often recall the trauma of severe pain combined with the pressure to keep performing not to let the team down. Address the trauma of injury with your child and allow your child to be in pain and seek help.

If your child requires surgery, address the anxiety around the surgery. I’ve never met an athlete who was relaxed about orthopedic surgery. They have relied on their bodies for so long to be successful, the possibility of something going wrong during or after the surgery is terrifying.

Don’t rush the recovery. Sports medicine physicians are very good at what they do. Follow their exact instructions, don’t speed through the recovery, don’t convince yourself your child is “tougher” or “heals better than others.” If you have been told they can’t play for a year, that is how long they can’t play for. It’s not optional to cut that time down.

Have a long discussion with your child’s coach about what your child’s role could be on a team while he is recovering. It should never be an option for your child to just step away for months to a year. Your child can serve as an assistant coach, a team manager, etc. Coaches are great at coming up with these ideas. Make sure there is a plan in place as soon as possible. Having teammates rally around your child (much like teammates rallied around Damar Hamlin) makes a huge difference in your child's physical and emotional recovery from an injury.

Don’t allow your child to wallow, to isolate, to stay in bed alone in their room. This is very unhelpful and will absolutely lead to depression. Athletes are not used to being alone. They are competitive, driven, and thrive in a group. Get them out of bed, surround them with family, friends, teammates, and give them challenges to tackle other than sports. How about an academic challenge? How about video games, puzzles, or projects around the home?

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Give your child a way to use their body that’s not participating in a sport. Your child is used to motion and using their body to express themselves. Find a hobby your child can do during recovery that will utilize their arms/legs safely. Woodworking, painting, crocheting, juggling, and cooking are all great options.

Above all, keep your child busy.