Even as Lindsey Vonn was airlifted to a hospital on Sunday at the Winter Games in Italy, the injured skier cheered for teammate Breezy Johnson, who went on to win gold.
Vonn’s crash ended her medal hopes in seconds. But her show of support, even while in physical agony, has become part of her legacy of risk-taking and competitive spirit, said Dr. John Brunelle of Novant Health Orthopedics & Sports Medicine - Cotswold.
“You're measured by how you handle adversity, not how you handle success,” he said. “We should focus less on Lindsey Vonn’s fall and more on the fact that she supported her teammate and gave it everything she had.”
The accident fractured Vonn’s left leg after she clipped the gate and lost control. While it was the same leg that suffered a ruptured ACL during training earlier this month, that tear did not cause the crash.
At 41, Vonn has notably persisted in a career plagued by injuries, including a concussion and a partial knee replacement. But Vonn’s latest crash, which required yet another surgery on her left leg, could challenge her ability to return to competitive skiing.
“There is always a risk of further injury once the body’s natural architecture is compromised,” said Dr. Payton Fennell, a doctor of osteopathic medicine and the senior medical director of Novant Health Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation.
“The body has to adapt by increasing the surrounding muscle output, the nervous system needs to process different feedback from the injured joint, and stability from previous training sessions needs to be trusted. This is something that elite athletes train their entire lives for.”
Here, in separate conversations, Fennell and Brunelle discuss the physical and mental hurdles that come with sports injuries. Fennell has served as team physician for the Carolina Hurricanes and is currently team physician for the Charlotte Checkers and USA Rugby.
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How was Lindsey Vonn able to compete in spite of her torn ACL?
There’s the average person, and then there’s the professional/elite athlete. Take Lindsey Vonn, Philip Rivers or Lebron James, who are all in their 40s -- they're able to achieve the things they achieve because they've created systems and habits throughout their lives. They train differently than the average athlete and can finetune imbalances within their bodies.
Is there such a thing as returning to a sport too quickly after an injury?
Yes, 100%. The most important thing when it comes to injury is accepting the fact that you are injured. How many times have you heard of the guy in his 40s playing pickup basketball who tears his Achilles tendon? Those explosive motions in an untrained body can lead to injury.
When we return to training, there are three dials that can be turned: duration, frequency and intensity. Often after an injury, people come back and immediately turn all three at once. This immediate training routine can lead to more injuries.
Once injured, you have to return gradually and understand that injury is a part of life. Your body won’t immediately function the way it once did, but with proper training, supplementation, diet, exercise and possible intervention you can get back to functioning at a level that is comparable to where you were prior to injury.
Here, Brunelle discusses how mindset can help push the body through challenging workouts and competitions. He works with elite athletes including USA Judo.
How can an athlete mentally come back from an accident like this?
I think the physical setbacks for Lindsey Vonn are relatively easy compared to the mental setbacks. With mental health, it's hard to identify the trail you need to get back. When you have a physical injury, you’ve got clear rehab and a good support system. Mental health is much more elusive. But because she's gotten over depressive episodes in the past, I think this is going to be relatively easy compared to what she's faced already.
What can the average athlete learn about determination and resilience from Vonn?
How you respond to failure and setback is truly going to be the measure of your character. Lindsey Vonn has been very open about her mental health. When your body fails you, that’s one thing. But when your mind fails you, that’s another. So it’s not how you overcome adversity, it's how you work through it.
I tell my athletes all the time, the risk is why you do it; if there were no risk, it wouldn't be as exciting. So I don't think it takes anything away that Vonn ended it this way. I don't think it's a tragedy at all.
Lindsey Vonn works with a mental health coach. Should every serious athlete meet with one?
I think they need to. That said, I want the athlete to fire me after three or four sessions, because I want to teach them how to become their own sport psychologist. That means they have to find their handbook, their own philosophy, their own religion. You don't necessarily need an answer to everything, but you’ll have a general guidepost.
Lindsey Vonn says her meditation is sleep. I believe in both; they’re separate things. But who am I to argue with a process that has worked for her? She knows her body and mind really well.
Why are we often quick to dismiss older athletes?
I always tell people I've had about four or five midlife crises. And I think the midlife crisis is when things stop getting hard and become routine and predictable.
Maybe I'm biased because I'm 59, but I just love when an athlete pursues what they've been doing forever, until the final door is closed. There’s a risk in not taking risks.
What are the mental hurdles athletes face in the thick of an injury? Where do you find the balance there when you're trying to compete?
Many, if not most, athletes I have worked with struggle with patience and rational decision-making when it comes to injuries, wanting to rush back to playing too soon and wanting to skip the time and physical therapy that it takes to be ready to compete.
But whether it's a mental injury or a physical roadblock, the key is having good, trustworthy consultants. Because you're going to have an internal battle and not always think rationally.
