Why injured athletes won’t switch their sport
I found an article on the Well blog today that really hit close to home – When Repeat Injuries Can’t Dim an Athlete’s Passion. The article tries to answer the question so many of my friends and family are wondering – why do runners keep running when they repeatedly get injured?
We met up with friends this weekend, and after telling someone about my three stress fractures, they respectfully said, “I think your body is telling you it doesn’t want to run.” And I honestly disagreed. What they said to me doesn’t compute in my head.
Yeah, I am crazy.
The article was short and interesting. Here are their hypotheses about why athletes will not give up their sport of choice when they get injured:
- They have a psychological problem. The athlete is compulsive, let’s their ego get in the way, and persists beyond all reason.
- They don’t want to give up their social life. The athlete’s friends participate in the same sport and that sport has become part of their identity.
- They don’t want to give up the pleasure of the sport. The sport produces a pleasurable experience at both the psychological and physiological level that makes it difficult to transition in to another sport.
- They don’t want to give up winning. The athlete does really well in their event, often winning trophies/placing, and they don’t want to give that up.
I can relate to the first three of those, and I’d like to add another reason it’s hard to give up a sport – you rely on it to keep your body at a consistent weight! My weight goes way up when I stop running because I eat like I still am.
Have you ever suffered from injury that made you sit out on your favorite sport? Did you not want to give up and relate to any of the reasons above? Or did you move on to something else?
As fun as I think biking is, I am not sure if I could ever love it as much as I do running. Even with my new pimp bike.
Okay, maybe I could. Maybe.
Themocracy
Hey nice pimp bike! I sat out when my IT went kaput then again with the achilles last spring. I think injuries challenge you to get out of your comfort zone and find a new way to achieve the fitness running gave you. If you can do that you’ll come back stronger physically and mentally and that tenacity carries over into other aspects of your life.
Well if you count the time I broke my ankle in 7th grade and had to sit out basketball season, I can’t say that I have had to give up a sport. But I understand where you are coming from, and to possibly have to give up something that has become such a part of your life would so very hard. I guess I would hope too that by not being able to run I would be able to explore something else (like you mentioned biking). Of course you might not love it at first, but I know I did not love running at first either. I think it’s going to be different. But as a person who gets that thrill from participating in races and feeling the endorphins of exercise, it would be hard to give up everything. So I wish you luck in finding something else that can work with your body and make you as happy as running did!
Thanks for this post– I am in complete agreement with you. Despite 4 stress fractures, I have no intention of giving up running. I cannot imagine my long-term future without it. And, like you, it has become a weight maintenance tool. I’ve gained back about 20 pounds of the 80 I lost during this 6+ months of injury, and I’m looking forward to a little of that coming back off!
I don’t think it’s a mental problem, just passionate people challenging themselves and the limits! People do it everyday, just not necessarily with running.
I agree- I guess that makes me crazy, too! I’ve had to sit out several times because of injuries or preventitive measures… it’s no fun. But I do it so I can go run again. Because I love it too much!
I used to play tennis. I really liked it and was halfway decent at it (still have my middle school champ trophy-rah!), but in unrelated incidents, I injured my knee and shoulder. It’s just too rough on my knees.
Had same issue with Tae Kwon Do. Was taking some free classes at the university where I worked but it was straining my knee, so I stopped.
Running was never something I got into. There was a time I ran every day for training, but I never enjoyed it. Don’t think I’ve ever experienced a runner’s high. I’m a little envious of people who do. Though it wouldn’t make sense for me to keep at something that lead to injuries, I can understand why people do.
I think, to me, it would feel too much like giving up. As in, it got hard so I quit. And that’s not something admirable.
Although, I admit, I read a comment somewhere from someone who said they had been a long distance runner but then bought a nice road bike to train for a triathlon and realized they loved biking so much that now they bike all the time and hardly ever run. I thought that was crazy. But now that I have my own bike I can almost see their point of view.
I had to give up aerobics (not that it was such a big sacrifice, but it was a weight maintenance tool) and move on to Nia, which is much easier on the joints.
I suspect that for you it’s #2 and #3. You get a lot of your identity from being a runner, and you find it pleasurable. Biking does seem like it would be a lot of fun.
With my back issues, I had to stop yoga for a while. That was hard for me, as it’s my main activity that would be considered exercise. I just had to take it easy and trust that I would come back to it with more enthusiasm.
I’ve been dealing with IT band issues for about the past year, and it’s clearly not steered me away from running! I ran 100% pain free for about 13 years, so I can run pain free again…at least that’s what I tell myself. When cross training, I did lots of swimming and biking, but it never did for me mentally what running does for me. I’ll never make tons of money from it nor win races (maybe age group?), but it’s just what I love to do!
Well, I can think of another reason – because we have invested so much time, energy and money into our sport! Also I think it becomes part of your identity.
When I was in the height of marathon training, a doctor friend of mine scolded me whenever I’d see him. His claim was that our bodies aren’t meant to run long distances like that and eventually my body would break down, resulting in knee and hip replacements at a young age. My snarky comeback to him was that I’d quit when my body told me it was ready to quit. And at that time, it just wasn’t ready to quit yet.
Five marathons later? My body was ready to quit. My last marathon was really tough on my emotionally, mentally and physically. I got achy in places I’d never ached before and it became harder and harder to overcome the mental hurdles of training. I knew it’d be my last … at least for a while. After I crossed the finish line in Central Park, I was at peace with my decision to quit running such long distances. In fact, I quit running anything over a few miles for years and years and years. And I don’t regret that decision one bit.
I’m a firm believer that our bodies know our limits and we have to listen to them and trust what they’re telling us.
“Have you ever suffered from injury that made you sit out on your favorite sport? Did you not want to give up and relate to any of the reasons above? Or did you move on to something else?”
I suffered a tailbone injury after doing martial arts for awhile. Even though they aren’t a sport, they are addictive and you do enjoy similar feelings of confidence and endorphins, like with running. I haven’t done it for awhile to give my injury a rest, but despite how difficult it was, I do miss it. I will probably go back to it, but will try a different martial art that doesn’t incorporate throwing.
Been there! When I first started stick fighting, a month in I was at a training at a weekend seminar when I dislocated my left knee. We won’t get into how painful that is! 😉 But I was out of training for about 6 weeks. Most people thought and assumed I wouldn’t go back. I was like, “Why? Unless I want to live in a bubble or foam-pad myself against the world, injury is going to happen no matter what. It’s a part of life.” And now I’ve been training for over 4 years. Take that naysayers! 😀
Yep.. I think we’re compulsive and need a mental evaluation. Good post! 🙂
i have always said runners are crazy, so I believe item 1 to be true…but i do love running
I think we all know about my sFx…..annoying.
This post really reminded me of the whole “running hurts your knees” I always hear from my fam or my wife’s fam. Of course, the people who say that have never ran, are 300 lbs, and have been told that they need their knees replaced. BUT I digress…….
I am in the “keep on trucking” camp, so I’m not sure I can rationalize why I want to keep up with my sport. I’m sure there is an addiction component, but it is a good thing so I am OK with it.
BTW – there is no way that I’d like biking as much as running….but pimp bikes DO help a ton.
One time Steven excited told his Grandma he was training for a 10K, and she said “running is bad for your knees.”
So lame. 😛
After a lot of injuries, both sports and running related, I have no desire to give up either of them haha. I mean injuries suck, but I think if you’re an athlete you accept that there will be some sacrifices for your “hobbies” (I put that in quotes because it’s so much more than a hobbie) right at the beginning and know it’s just part of the game. I don’t think injuries are necessarily a bad thing, they make you a smarter runner/athlete in the end.
I sat out for a few weeks last year when I had IT issues and post-marathon tendinitis. I did a little biking and XT, but the issue resolved itself quickly. However, I was scared about the eating thing since my hunger doesn’t seem to lessen when I exercise less. Booooo.
At times, even my doctor has said “you keep getting injured, why do it” although she herself if a runner and totally gets it! I think its the “come back for more” in me…I have to keep going and pushing!
Ha! So true – I have chronic knee and back problems, but even that can’t stop me from pounding the pavement! Bring on the ice baths and asprin!
My doctor told me: maybe you just aren’t meant to be a runner.
My running friend was appalled that he would say this.
I was running, had horrible knee pain that just kept dragging on so badly that I could barely walk most days and was kept awake most nights. I stopped running then…I assumed my body was just not able to handle the excessive extra weight I was trying to run with.
But now I’m down 35 pounds and I’m slowly trying again…and it’s still not perfect….I’m not sure if I’ll be able to continue, but I’m going to try!! I really want to be a runner!!