Injuries and sports are two distinct things that go together quite often. Whether it is summer or winter, no matter the season, people will get injured and sports are one of the main ways people will get hurt. 

Something that changes often is the types of injuries people will get, depending on the sports and season they are playing. Studies have shown that in sports during the summer, injuries can vary a lot and happen more frequently, also in a less severe manner. When we go to winter, the injuries can be more damaging but happen less often. According to statistics from the Olympics, 40% of the Rio athletes were expected to have one day of absence from the sport compared with 39% in Sochi. However, many of the winter athletes suffered severe injuries that made it impossible for them to return to the competition or training soon.

“We see far more fractures of the distal fibula and distal radius fractures in the winter months due to falls and ice injuries,” said Helen Williams, PA-C of the Center for Orthopedic Care.  “In the summer months, we often see distal radius fractures in younger children due to increased sports activities.”

This can happen for many reasons, but the most common is the difference in the sports. In the winter, most sports are played on ice and require other tools, like skis or ice boots, to make you go faster. More severe and intense injuries can happen with more speed added to the play. In hockey, a sport considered aggressive by many viewers, concussions can happen often. 

Another research study that helps in the discussion is the University of Western Ontario study. Between 2000 and 2007, men’s NCAA ice hockey saw an annual increase of 1.8% in game injury rates and a 7.8% annual rise in practice injury rates. However, subsequent data indicates a decrease in injury rates between 2007 and 2013 during men’s International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship tournaments.

As the study before shows, here in Oswego hockey is a huge sport. Hockey is considered one of the most important programs of SUNY Oswego. Injuries are also common and often seen in the games. One significant example was during the SUNYAC semifinals, when a heated moment between Brandon Cohen and Don Powell occured. Cohen had to leave the game after hitting his head on the floor. 

Contrary to what many people may think, Mary Walker, SUNY Oswego’s medical care center, is often not the primary source of treatment for athletes.

“Most concussions that are received in the game, are treated by the athletic trainers,”  said Angie Brown, Director of Student Health Services. “They have a protocol where the athletes fill out a cognitive test at the beginning of the season, so if they get a concussion, they must fill it out again.”

Brown also said that the center is reached when the issue has been ongoing for a longer time and when the trainers need help with something else.

In cases like Cohen’s, athletes can miss important games or even entire seasons due to serious injuries. A study conducted by the Universidade Estadual de Maringa shows that sports injuries can negatively impact athletes’ emotional state, leading to feelings of sadness, frustration and even depression. For example, injured athletes often experience negative emotions, such as fear of further injury, concern about future performance and anxiety.

“If it’s an athlete, we will reach out to the athletic trainers, maybe the coaches, making sure about the counseling center and what’s there,” Brown said about how they care for the injuries’ mental part. “Talking with them about rehab and other coping mechanisms and things in these areas, we get how complex injuries can be for an athlete.”

Photo by: Annushka Ahuja via Pixels