100 | Carrie & Cindy Celebrate Success
The Injured Athletes Club
“One of the catalysts for us starting the Injured Athletes Club support group and then also doing the podcast is so that you don't feel like you're alone … when you lose your sport, there's sometimes so many little mini-losses that come with that. So to be able to come to the Injured Athletes Club and be a part of a community is so special, and you all are the ones that make that special.” One big message we try to share on this podcast, in our Facebook group, and throughout our work with injured athletes is that it’s essential to celebrate your successes. This week,...
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99 | Ballet Dancer Chyrstyn Fentroy: Exploring New Identities
The Injured Athletes Club
“My parents are dancers, so I literally grew up in the studio. Ballet kind of goes hand in hand with my identity—I have always been Chyrstyn the ballet dancer. I didn't realize that until I had it taken away from me and I had to sit down and identify other things that I was interested in. Otherwise, what was I existing for? I think having the confidence of understanding a little bit more about what I want in life that's not just ballet, or what I represent more than just being a ballet dancer or being a pretty mover on stage, was helpful.” is a principal dancer at the Boston...
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98 | Carrie Answers a Question: Stephanie’s Snag
The Injured Athletes Club
“I'd really love to know how to stop comparing the athlete I was before injury to the athlete I am now. I had knee surgery 10 months ago, and even though I'm fully cleared for all activities I am really struggling to get back into a groove with running. Any type of speed work really isn't working for me and I just can't seem to get any speed back. I am so frustrated with my lack of progress and would love to know how I can get over it.” —Stephanie This week, co-host and mental skills coach Carrie Jackson answers a question from listener Stephanie, who feels stuck comparing herself...
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97 | Carrie & Cindy Ease Your Fears of Reinjury
The Injured Athletes Club
“One of the biggest challenges athletes face is trying to figure out if the pain that they're experiencing is pain that's a signal to stop or a pain that is okay to push through. Like, ‘When I feel this pain, if I push through, am I going to do further harm? Am I going to make things worse?’ The fear of re-injury helps you pay attention to your pain. But when you are physically cleared to do your physical therapy, or cleared to get back to training and practice and return to competition, yet you're still struggling with that fear—now the fear is holding you back versus...
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96 | Carrie Answers Your Questions: Re-Finding Your Edge
The Injured Athletes Club
“I’d love to know how you ever get comfortable with pushing the limits, or pushing hard again, without being so scared of re-injury. I often feel that in my speed workouts, I’m holding back, afraid to see how hard I can push, because I’m scared, but I also don’t want to let that fear hinder my athletic development! How to strike a healthy balance of ‘fear’ I suppose or learning to listen to your body.” —Jessica “How do I trust my body again, and how do I untangle what is purely mental (fear!) and what is physical (still rebuilding muscle)? How do I separate what...
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95 | Long Jumper Kate Hall-Harnden: Finding Strength in the Challenge
The Injured Athletes Club
[Having type 1 diabetes] comes with a lot of struggles, but I try to kind of embrace those struggles and learn from them and they help me grow. Having that perspective with type 1 helped me with my ACL recovery. Because I could say, ‘Alright, this is going to be one of the hardest times in my life, but in the long run, I will be stronger because of it.” When the 2020 Olympics were first postponed, long jumper Kate Hall looked on the bright side—she’d have more time to train and prepare for the Olympic Trials, which would qualify her for the Games. But a week before her first...
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94 | Carrie Answers a Question: Family Matters
The Injured Athletes Club
“How can we communicate with our partners, friends, and family about how hard we are finding it to be injured and what we need in terms of emotional support? —Anna “I have the same question: My husband is very helpful in doing physical tasks I still can't manage eight months after a trimalleolar pilon fracture, but he can't accept how severe this injury is, even though he has heard my surgeon explain it. He thinks it's just a broken ankle and thinks I should be back on the tennis court this summer, which is not going to happen since I can't even walk down the stairs properly and...
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93 | Paralympic Rugby Player and Coach Joe Delagrave: Defining Yourself
The Injured Athletes Club
“Rugby is something I think about all the time. But then going like, if it's gone, am I okay? If it's ripped away, like my able-bodied football career was, am I okay? In that moment, I wasn't. I had to ask, who is Joe in this new life in a wheelchair, and what's my identity? ... I think that's an important piece too, where a lot of athletes—it might not be as devastating as a paralysis, but when they're going through that eight- to 12-month rehab or a two-year rehab, or whatever it is, that identity is gone for a minute there and they have to kind of fight through and ask themselves those...
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92 | Carrie Answers a Question: Louise’s Lament
The Injured Athletes Club
“I loved the bit in the book where it gave ideas of how to respond to common messages or responses from people. I find it difficult to respond to the two following common comments I get about my injury journey: 1. You'll come out stronger 2. Your injury means you can concentrate on other things that are not your sport.” —Louise This week, co-host and mental skills coach Carrie Jackson answers a question from listener Louise, who finds herself at a loss for words when people around her express these common sentiments. In her response, Carrie...
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91 | Olympic Heptathlete Annie Kunz: Behave Your Way to Success
The Injured Athletes Club
“I obviously was devastated; there's no way around it. It hit me really hard, and I kind of allowed myself—I tend to do this when I'm going through something like emotional turbulence or something where I'm upset about something going on with my sport or personal life or whatever—I'm like, okay, I'm gonna give myself x amount of time to be sad. Lean into that. Cry it out, feel bad for yourself, like just all the things. And then when that time limit is over, it's like, all right, we did that, we grieved. Now, what can we control? What can we focus on moving forward?” As a...
info_outlineWe’re sorry you’re here, but we’re glad you’re here, too!
Welcome to the first episode of The Injured Athletes Club, a podcast about how to cope with sports injuries. We’re your hosts, mental skills coach Carrie Jackson Cheadle and journalist Cindy Kuzma. We’ll be right there with you through this 12-episode season.
We’ve both been there—sidelined—and we know how frustrating rehab can be, how slow your progress can seem, and how the entire experience can leave you feeling isolated and alone.
On this initial episode, we discuss:
-What The Injured Athletes Club is: “It might not be a club that you originally wanted to be a part of, but it's a way to reframe it—to go, ‘Ah, this actually can be a really powerful experience,” Carrie says
-Some of the most common psychological consequences of injury, including loss of identity, lack of confidence in your body, fear of reinjury, worry about falling behind your competition, and disconnection from your tribe
-Why it’s so important to do mental rehab along with physical rehab when you’re injured
-How social connections and support—including in groups like The Injured Athletes Club—are critical to the recovery process
-Who can benefit from mental skills training/mental rehab from injury (hint: It’s not just elite athletes)
-What to expect in this upcoming 12-episode season: shows that alternate between interviews with guests—including athletes, researchers, clinicians, and more—and episodes where Cindy and Carrie break down the tools you can use to cope with injury and recover faster and stronger
-How the mental skills you practice during rehab can benefit you long after you’ve recovered from injury
-What it means to rebound from an injury and come back stronger
-The way we hope to change the entire perception of injury: “When you step back and look at your entire athletic journey, this is just going to be one point that maybe provides a really powerful opportunity for you to learn more about yourself and come back even stronger, both mentally and physically,” Carrie says
-One mental drill Carrie recommends to any injured athlete (get out your pen and paper for this one)
Resources we mention:
-Our website, www.injuredathletesclub.com
-The Injured Athletes Club Facebook group
Thanks for listening, and please reach out anytime at [email protected] with questions, guest suggestions, or other feedback.
DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational & informational use only and & does not constitute medical advice. Do not disregard, avoid or delay obtaining medical or health related advice from your health-care professional because of something you may have heard in an episode of this podcast. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult with a qualified medical professional for proper evaluation & treatment. Guests who speak on this podcast express their own opinions, experiences, and conclusions, and The Injured Athletes Club podcast hosts nor any company providing financial support endorses or opposes any particular treatment option discussed in the episodes of this podcast and are not responsible for any actions or inactions of listeners based on the information presented. The use of any information provided is solely at your own risk.