Injuries

Playing a Division I sport can take a toll on your body. You eventually get used to sore and tired muscles, but one thing that can affect a lot of athletes is injury. It doesn't matter what sport you play, everyone in every sport is prone to some kind of injury. Most often you see an injury related to a specific instance in competition or practice where a body part was injured. The other common type of injury is an overuse injury.

Though thinking of injuries is not something that crosses a lot of athletes minds, it is definitely something that should always be kept at the back of you mind. You have to know how to react to it if you get injured, and there is a level of mental toughness that you need to have in order to bounce back from an injury quickly and successfully.

Though it can be frustrating, getting back as soon as possible from an injury is not always the best decision. The athlete will always think otherwise, but rushing back into something can be detrimental to the future health of the athlete.

Most colleges and universities have a team/program doctor. Someone who all the athletes are referred to for surgeries, injections, x-rays, MRI's, anything you can think of. This doctor gives priority to these athletes and will typically bend over backwards to do everything they can to get the athlete back to 100% as soon as they possibly can.

Though it is in no ones plan to get to college and get hurt, you are offered a lot of options if you are put into that situation. There are a number of surgeries and injections now that can make the injury go away, or at least mask the injury, for an extended period of time. The more medically advanced our society gets, the more options there are for athletes to compete.