What Every Volleyball Athlete Should Know About Post-Injury Follow-Up

Volleyball is demanding, and you probably can’t even count the number of times you’ve had to push through the pain and keep going. But the second you get injured, it all changes. 

Your thinking changes from the next match to wondering how long you’ll be out of the field, which is normal.

Now, doctors aren’t above making mistakes. So, what if they’re wrong? What if that pain isn’t all that normal and it turns into something permanent? What if your rehab plan puts you back on the court way too soon? 

All of the above is the perfect recipe for cutting a career short. 

The First Steps After Getting Injured

No matter how small your injury is, you absolutely must get it checked out by a doctor. 

Pain and swelling can be the start of something bigger, and if you ignore it because you want to ‘finish the match’ or ‘get through practice,’ it will make things worse unless you’re Hulk. Nothing can touch that guy. 

If you’re playing in an organized setting, there should be trained medical staff on site, and their job is not just to tape you up but to assess what happened and decide if you need actual medical care or not. That first evaluation is critical because early intervention can stop an injury that is supposed to be short-term from turning into a long-term problem. It also affects the recovery, including how long you’re out and how well you do once you’re back. 

Right after the injury, write down what you felt and what caused it. Ask questions about what the doctor suspects might be wrong and what symptoms you need to watch for. 

Never settle for vague answers; make sure you get a specific diagnosis and a clear plan for the treatment. 

How to Make Sure You Get Proper Treatment and Rehabilitation

Rest and time are important for rehabilitation, but that’s not all you need to do. 

We’ll get to more details in a second, but first, it’s good to know what to do if a medical treatment goes wrong.

And knowing what to do depends on where you are. 

Here’s an example of why that’s important: If you’re in Chicago and your treatment goes wrong, it’s all about deadlines. Illinois law has a 2-year Statute of Limitation (SOL) and a 4-year Statute of Repose period. This means that Illinois law gives you a period of 2 years from when you know (or should have reasonably known) about the injury/death.

So, a medical malpractice claim Chicago residents would file has to be within those 2 years from the act/omission if they knew about the injury immediately, but no more than 4 years if the injury was suspectedly caused by malpractice and has been discovered.

In Illinois (Chicago, in this case), if you knew from the get-go, then you’ve got 2 years to sue. But if you discovered the injury a year later, then the 2-year clock starts at the point of discovery. But you’ve still only got 4 years from when the malpractice happened, regardless of when you discovered it. 

In this particular case, you’d have 1 year left to sue, plus the plaintiff would have the burden of proving that the injury has been discovered at a later date.

On the other hand, if you’ve had your treatment go wrong in NYC, NYC law allows for 30 months (2 and a half years) from the date the malpractice happened or from the date the continuous treatment for the condition has ended. Also, in NYC, there is no universal hard cap on such cases, unlike the 4-year limit you have in Illinois. There are limits in some extreme cases, though (e.g., 7 years from the act/omission in negligent cancer/tumor diagnosis cases).

Now, onto the actual recovery.

Physical Therapy Monitoring

This is where you rebuild your strength and balance, but only if you stick to what’s prescribed. 

If you skip exercises or do them halfway, you can mess up your recovery. A good therapist will explain why each exercise is important and how it helps, so make sure to get through every single one. 

You should work only with someone who understands sports injuries, so do your research before choosing a therapist. 

Proper Use of Bracing, Taping, and Supports

Braces and tape aren’t designed to be a permanent replacement for strength; they’re there only to support you while injured (more precisely, while you still aren’t fully healed, or are just coming back after recovery). They help protect your body while you’re healing, but if you use them too much, they can make your muscles weaker over time because you become too reliant.

If you feel like you can’t move normally without a brace or tape, then there’s a good chance something isn’t healing (or hasn’t healed) properly. Go consult your physician.

Getting Back to the Court

Before you go back, you need to prove that your body can safely jump, twist, land, and reach. A good return-to-play plan tests your balance and strength, not just whether you can stand or jog. 

Before you’re cleared to play, your coach and your doctor should be on the same page. If you go back too soon, you risk a second injury, and those are usually much worse. 

Conclusion

It doesn’t mean your season is over just because you got injured. 

But the way you handle the aftermath can be the difference between coming back stronger and staying stuck in bed longer than you should. Volleyball pushes your body, but so does good recovery.

Your body is like the most important part of the equipment. The thing is, you can’t replace it, so make sure to protect it.

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