Injuries have been terrorizing athletes across all sports for years, but why suddenly are they occurring more often and more severely? The answer is unknown. Athletes push their bodies to the limit all season long, and injuries get in the way of growing as players. These injuries sometimes come at the start,  the middle, or the end of a season, but there is no exact reason. Sometimes athletes tend to work too hard at the start of the season, rather than taking it slow to get the body in shape, or towards the end of the season when their body cannot withstand the hard work any longer. 

Well-known players across the National Football League, the NFL, have struggled to stay healthy these past few years. Tua Tagovailoa in particular has been injured for quite some time during the 2024 NFL season. Tagovailoa, the quarterback for the Miami Dolphins, has sustained his third concussion of his NFL career, sidelining him for at least four weeks on the Injured Reserve to give him time to heal and decide what’s in store for the future of his NFL career. Concussions are extremely dangerous and can change the pathway of someone’s future. Tagovailoa has chosen not to wear the special “Guardian Cap,” which gives a bit more protection on hits in the head. His reason why is a “personal reason.” Tagovailoa is set to return to the practice field during the week of October 22nd, but there has been no set timeline for when he will return to the Dolphin’s centerpiece.

Injuries don’t just happen at the professional level; high school athletes in the United States deal with over 5 million injuries during their high school athletic careers, according to research presented at a meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Therefore, athletes from all over, including Indian Hills, have to be more careful to not play too rough during games to avoid injury. These injuries to student-athletes tend to be as frequent as professional athletes, but what makes them more dangerous is that most high school students are continuously growing throughout their athletic careers. According to The Washington Post, 6% of injuries sustained by student-athletes end up needing a surgical repair, which usually ends up keeping the athlete on the sidelines for an extended period depending on the type of surgery. 

Brendan Ross, a senior for the boy’s soccer team, injured the outer part of his left ankle in the first half of a game at Old Tappan. Ross describes his first thoughts after his injury: “The initial pain was like nothing I’ve ever felt before, I heard a pop and when I landed I knew it wasn’t just your average ankle roll. I thought I broke it, I thought I was done [for the season].” The doctors told Ross that he unfortunately completely tore his anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL), which is a ligament on the outer part of the ankle. Although the season was just starting, Ross expressed his concern, “At first I was really upset. I love playing soccer and running, and I’m very active, so it killed me to just be on the sidelines for a while and even unable to stand at certain points, but I realized that everything happens for a reason and I had the confidence and the drive to come back stronger than ever.” Ross was finally cleared to come back to the field for his first game from injury on October 22nd against River Dell, which happened to be Senior Night, and continued to play the rest of the season healthy.

Mike Trout is a superstar for the Los Angeles Angels in Major League Baseball, but as of the past few years, he hasn’t seen the field as much as a superstar should. This is because of multiple serious injuries ranging from tearing his meniscus in 2024 to straining his calf in 2021, resulting in missing more than 200 games combined. Trout also had extreme back inflammation in 2022 while he was having another great season, and the next year he broke his hamate in his hand after swinging his bat. 

Similar to Mike Trout, Ryan Hurley, a junior on the Hills’ baseball team, has suffered an injury to his throwing arm two years in a row. The first injury came during the biggest stage of the season, the county tournament, where Hurley was the starting pitcher. Hurley was seen in pain after throwing a wild pitch in the first inning, resulting in surgery. Hurley comments, “The first healing process was a rough and a long one, [I] had to go through grueling PT (physical therapy) for about 6 months, and that was very painful because after surgery I could barely move my arm.” There was hope for Hurley to return fully healthy for the next season, which unfortunately was not the case due to a mishap during the surgical process. Hurley continues, “They basically tried to put a screw in to help it out, but they chipped part of the bone and broke it.” Screws are often used during surgery to keep the bone in place, but because of a mistake, Hurley was forced to sit out the baseball season last spring. This season Hurley is set to make a full recovery before the spring baseball season in 2025, as the painful healing process has gone well so far.

Ben Simmons was the number one overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft and unfortunately has never panned out to the potential he was thought to have due to an extreme amount of injuries. From 2020 to 2024, a 4-year span, just like high school athletes, Simmons sustained injuries to his calf, back, and most importantly, his knee. During the 2020 season, Simmons took a hit to his left knee causing a contusion, resulting in surgery. Since then, Simmons has not returned to the player he once was.

Sienna Perry, a junior for the girls’ volleyball team, ended up tearing her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and partially tore some other ligaments in her left knee. During preseason, Perry made a move on the ball, and as she landed from her jump, there was a loud popping sound. That popping noise would prevent her from coming back that season. To be cleared for a return to volleyball, the process takes about a year, while returning to a normal routine would take about 6 months. Perry comments, “I have neutral feelings about the injury. It happened, and there is nothing I can do about it.” Perry is now in the process of going through rehab after having surgery at the beginning of October. She hopes to return to full health in time for the next volleyball season.

How can we attempt to prevent these injuries? The athletic trainer, Karen, recommends, 

1. Proper nutrition and a well balanced diet.
2. Staying hydrated on and off the field.
3. Getting plenty of rest.
4. Have an in season and off season work out plan.
5. Incorporate strength,flexibility, endurance, and core components.
6. Always listen to your body.  If you are sore, tired, in pain, etc., adjust your workouts accordingly. When in doubt, sit it out.
7. If you are hurt, or injured, see the proper medical professional to check you out. Don’t wait til it is too late.
8. Always remember: Ice is nice, Motion is lotion!

Highest High School Sport Injury Rates Chart (According to AAOS) per June 2023

Boys Sports: 2.52 per 1000

Girls Sports: 1.56 per 1000