By Sara Rovit, Jordyn Oliver, Elijah Wroten, Malik Bowen, and Hayden Rosenfeld
Injuries are never just physical, especially the ones that impact a student-athlete’s life. Whether it's being sidelined for just a game or out for an entire season, injuries are far from just physical setbacks. Being removed from team activities and stripped from the game you love can often trigger significant mental health issues, and there is no playbook for getting back because every athlete’s reaction and recovery to injuries differs. To learn more about injury and identity in college sports, our group interviewed various Duke student-athletes and a trainer and summarized our key findings.
Interviews
Elijah Wroten–Duke Football
“Watching my team all progress together as a unit while I was just getting out of my wheelchair was easily one of the toughest things I had to go through mentally. I just had to keep reminding myself that I was improving in my own way.”
In the last few weeks of 2020, Duke football’s Elijah Wroten received the news that no athlete – especially a Division-I athlete with NFL aspirations – ever wants to hear. After a lengthy period of testing and failed cortisone shots, this offensive lineman heard his surgeon utter the words “you may never get to play again.” Elijah recalls immediately feeling struck in the heart and scared about that possibility. He had spent most of his life playing the game of football and though college ball was always a dream of his, his real aspiration involved playing at the professional level in the NFL. We were lucky enough to sit down with Elijah to hear about his remarkable journey back to the field.
In November 2020, Elijah started feeling such intense pain in his right knee that he approached his trainers for some cortisone shots and drainage. During the 3rd week of little progress, he thought his knee was going to give out while going up a flight of stairs, so he went to his team trainers for an MRI and X-rays. Being told he had a torn meniscus in two places and that if he did not correct the injury immediately that it would spread to his other leg was devastating. While his teammates were all getting ready for winter break and the offseason, Elijah had to undergo an intense bilateral formaseonomy, which is double knee surgery that realigns your bones to a certain degree. His right leg was shifted seven degrees, while his left leg turned 11 degrees. He also had a metal plate and eight screws inserted into each knee (see attached photo).
Elijah shared that he underwent surgery on December 14th, 2020 and was fortunately cleared to play football again almost exactly a year later. He spent six months in a wheelchair and multiple weeks on crutches. When he was days away from getting released from his crutches early, he got in a car accident that set him back two extra months due to extra swelling. His conversation about this experience was overwhelmingly inspirational. Having to relearn how to walk and add pressure to your legs–not only once–but twice while in college was certainly traumatizing at times. While his teammates were playing in games and all improving as a unit, Elijah was shuffling in and out of doctors’ appointments for updated MRIs and physical therapy sessions for workout sessions.
When asked about not being on the field with his team, Elijah reflected on how his post-injury time was easily one of the toughest things he had to go through mentally, psychically, spiritually, and emotionally. Sitting through serious conversations prior to surgery about the high possibility of never playing football again struck his heart, and during his recovery, he had to be more vulnerable than he had ever had to be before. During the first few weeks in a wheelchair, Elijah asked only a few people for help and remained stern about being independent. Then, he realized how much he took for granted being able to walk on one’s own and had to start being vulnerable and asking for help. Transitioning from being a 19-year-old D-1 athlete who lives independently to living back at home and constantly begging for help was undoubtedly difficult at times. He recounts the silver lining of this experience being the quality time he got to spend with his family and his new puppy that he rarely sees as a college athlete.
Once back on campus, he remembers how supportive his teammates and coaches were during his transition. However, few things could ease the pain of watching his team all get better together, as a unit, while he was forced to the sidelines. Elijah spoke at length about how he had to just keep reminding himself that he was improving in his own way and on his own timeline. On top of the mental difficulty that comes from watching what you love most from the sidelines, Elijah had to navigate the ever-changing COVID restrictions. His outlets and support systems often were cut off for periods of time based on the COVID numbers, which certainly added extra stress to his recovery. When asked further about his academic and social commitments during this time, Elijah responded that he had to control what he could control, so he really focused on his academics with his extra free time. He also definitely utilized the opportunity of limited travel to meet new people and hang with friends on other sports teams as campus reopened.
Lastly, many people in Elijah’s life had a say in when he returned to the field – ranging from his physical therapist to his position coach to his family. He had surgeons looking at his x-rays every month to decide when he was ready to re-learn how to walk, then jog, and finally run. Elijah commented on how his trainer had to balance letting Elijah’s bones grow with wanting to get him up and moving again with comfort. Elijah speaks very highly of his trainer, who genuinely wanted him to rediscover his groove as a player. In addition to the medical professionals, Elijah’s family also played an important role in his decision to return to ensure he was not pushing himself too hard and too fast. Most importantly though, Elijah was able to be in the driver’s seat and built up enough of a trusting relationship with his team to tell them when he needed to have a chill workout day or a day of mostly rest. Overall, Elijah reflects on this experience as one that without a doubt shaped him into the man he is today.
Jordyn Oliver–Duke Women’s Basketball
“It’s still a journey every day but I think I’m doing better. There’s no place I would rather be.”
Jordyn Oliver is a current Junior from Prosper, Texas. She started her college career at Baylor University in 2019. After her sophomore season, she transferred to Duke University but had to redshirt the 2021-22 season because of a torn Achilles.
In July of 2021, Jordyn tore her Achilles and had surgery three days after the incident. She recalls doing drills at a summer workout where she was doing a “sweep move,” a move to get the ball from one side of your body to the other by bringing the ball across low, near your shins. She was practicing the move without contact when her foot gave out under her, ending her season.
For Jordyn, the surgery process through Duke was pretty quick. When I asked Jordyn to tell me about her surgery, she mentioned that the Duke surgeon who attended to her was also the one who performed surgery on Kyrie Irving.
Her recovery process was long and grueling. The first couple of months focused on reteaching herself how to walk and getting motion back into her toes after not being able to put weight on her foot for so long. When she reached the fourth and fifth months of recovery, Jordyn was quickly eased back into running and jumping. She described these months as, “feeling like [she] was able to play but not 100 percent [herself].” Mentally, the recovery process was tough and the last couple of months were by far the most difficult. She felt like she was able to play at the same level as she did before her injury with no restrictions but her doctors and athletic trainers kept her back.
Her injury also gave her a difficult time academically. For the fall semester at Duke, Jordyn had to travel around on a scooter, heavily limiting her mobility. Getting from class to class became exponentially more challenging. She remembers how mentally draining it was to just move around campus.
Jordyn felt like she couldn’t have the same experiences socially as she could if she were able to walk properly. She spent the majority of her free time during those months in her house feeling a bit trapped.
Now Jordyn is in her ninth month of recovery and says the process is going well. She is at 70% performance-wise and should be able to return to play next season. Although she is practicing and spending more time with the team, the 30% of activity that she is not cleared to do is still taking a toll on her mentally. Her athletics trainers, physical therapists, and coaches all meet frequently to discuss her recovery process and reevaluate where Jordyn is so far. She knows that they have her best interest at heart but she still wishes she was able to play now.
Dorian Mausi–Duke Football
“I was irritated because you just feel like you're getting behind... you feel like everybody is moving forward... like the coaches are forgetting about you... you just feel like everyone is moving on and you just left here in the dust.”
Dorian Mausi is a linebacker for the Duke Football Team and in his freshman year of college, he tore his labrum in his shoulder. Dorian injured his shoulder during the football season and chose to play the remainder of the season with a torn shoulder. “I didn’t get it looked at till after the season... I preferred not to know” He was starting his freshman year so he made the sacrifice to continue playing on his injury because of his spot and that he knew the team needed. The bond a player has to his team is very interesting because though Dorian knew his shoulder was hurt he chose to continue playing because he didn’t want to let his team down.
Though he made this sacrifice for his team, the process he had to go through after the season was hard because of the lack of connection with the team. “ I was irritated because you just feel like you're getting behind... you feel like everybody is moving forward... like the coaches are forgetting about you... you just feel like everyone is moving on and you just left here in the dust.” A lot of people think being injured is just a physical battle you have with your body but as much as it is physical it is mental. The feeling of being alone because you can’t play the sport that you love. The sport that helps most athletes take out all sources of stress they have. All those feelings you just have to sit with while you watch other players and teammates getting better while you are still just trying to get back to normal.
The common trope for an athlete is “Rub some dirt on it” when talking with Dorian he couldn’t help but say “I wouldn’t call it an injury... I got hurt a little bit.” He was trying to fight the word injury from coming out of his mouth. When growing up and playing sports you always said that “you aren’t hurt” and “walk it off”. Even in college, players do this as we see with Dorian and his shoulder. The only difference is that when you are a kid the injuries are scraping your knee on the concrete and when you are a college player like Dorian you fight through torn ligaments. The threshold for pain just increases but the same mentality stands with “rub some dirt on it”.
Dorian’s shoulder injury still affects him to this day. So even when you do get surgery it isn’t a real fix. Even a year and a half out from surgery he still has problems with his shoulder. “ When I reach my arm all the way out, I still don’t have all the strength back in my shoulder” After all this time his shoulder still hasn’t fully gotten back to 100%. Dorian talks about how even though he can use his arm it’s hard because of the self-conscious thoughts in his head about the injury. “ I’m apprehensive to go out and grab something... it's there(the injury) in your mind but it’s not there.” The hesitation for Dorian to use his shoulder in his sport still cripples him to this day. Injuries are hard for athletes especially after the fact when it comes to recovery because a lot of the time your body isn't going to feel the same.
Duke Football Trainer
What drew you to this type of medicine?
“What initially drew me to this type of medicine was my love for sports. Growing up in Atlanta I was always around a compassionate fan base which constantly reminded me of my love for the sports world. Growing up I also participated in sports myself and although I wasn’t the best athlete, I still gave every sport I played my all and admired the team atmosphere.”
The athletic trainer who I interviewed asked to remain anonymous and spoke about what first led him into taking the road of focusing on this specific medical field. Although he never took the journey of playing and competing in collegiate sports, he played sports throughout his childhood and in high school. Although he may have never been the biggest athlete it never stopped him from competing to the best of his ability. Being able to play high school sports was a blessing in disguise because it taught him to a certain extent about what some of us athletes went through prior to making the transition to college. Regardless if he wanted to play sports at the next level, he knew that regardless he wanted to be around the sports atmosphere for the rest of his life so he began his journey in studying the specific field of medicine. Being a part of the football team’s training staff may not let you participate in the practices but it most certainly gives someone a glimpse of the typical schedule that a Division I football player goes through day in and day out.
When speaking about his relationship with players, he tied in how much of a role this plays. He mentioned, “although I’m not a part of these teams as an athlete myself, I’m a part of the team in a different aspect. Due to the fact that I’m up as early as them and am at every single workout, practice, and team meetings for the most part I’m able to see what they go through as individuals on a daily basis. The basic understanding that I have for what these guys do on a day to day basis goes a long way especially since they have to build a trust in me to help them take care of their bodies. I also make sure that I get to know them as individuals and not just athletes because as soon as they walk into the training room, their pads are off.”
To be a part of a football team goes a long way especially when you’re someone who helps take care of our bodies. Seeing my athletic trainers up as early as we are in order to ensure that we have everything that we need as players so we can play at the best of our abilities goes a long way. Knowing how physical a sport football is, one of the things that we spend the most time taking care of is our bodies. With the long seasons and constant physical tests, we as players spend a majority of our time in the training room recovering. With a common schedule between the athletes and trainers and constant time together one of the things that we must have within each other is trust. We as players must trust in the knowledge and experience of athletic trainers and they must trust in us as men.
Although we have to form a relationship with our trainers, not everything is always butterflies and gumdrops. At times things can get hectic when we’re not on the same page but the trainer emphasized the idea of communication. He had said, “At the end of the day we’re all adults and we will all treat each other that way. We may not always agree on treatments or exercises but we do our best to communicate why we do everything and what we see going on. Part of that communication is trust, another is educating, and the last is to get them to understand their bodies.”
Although when we come to college making the transition to adults we must live up to expectations that the program sets for us as men. In doing that, one of the main rules is communication. When there's a lack of communication that can also form a lack of trust and dependability to an extent. Even when one may not be on the same page the only way to fix that is with communication as well. Communicating with the trainers and whoever else is a part of our program helps them fully understand what we may be going through mentally on and off the field, what we may need as individuals, and as a sign of respect and trust. Regardless of what may occur, the training staff plays a vital role in the recovery and rehab of an athlete's body. From major surgeries to a sprained ankle, the staff does whatever they can to the best of their ability to help us as athletes get back to the basics in a healthy and reliable manner.
Conclusion
When breaking down the various factors and timeline of an injury, the many different aspects of what may occur and how that may affect a student-athlete are evident. From having to sit out a full season, coping with physical and mental battles in order to return to play, playing through an injury to live up to your expectations of being tough and the standards of the programs and coaches, an injury can bring someone to the point of losing themselves as individuals and their love for the game. Understanding the role of an athletic trainer and how they help us keep a consistent recovery shows the perspective of the other side of an injury: the people who want athletes to be able to perform at their best levels no matter the time it takes to heal them. Despite how differently an injury may come about, the similarities in terms of the mental and physical battle that is the recovery process remain similar across the board.