Vonn tough
Sheree DiBIASE | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 12 years, 1 month AGO
Last year, Olympic bronze medal winner in the Super-G and four-time World Cup champion Lindsey Vonn sustained an injury in the Super-G Skiing World Championships in Austria, where she tore her right knee anterior cruciate ligament and her medial collateral ligament, and fractured her tibial plateau. This injury would sideline her for the rest of the season and make some people wonder whether or not she would be ready for the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
Well, she is ready, and has already returned to the snow in typical Vonn style, training in Chile for five days in August. Her first race is set for this month at the World Cup on Nov. 29 in Beaver Creek, Colorado.
Vonn is tough and not a complainer. According to her, she got this from her mother, who sustained a stroke when she had Lindsey, 29 years ago. It seems that Vonn's Mom taught her, "No matter what the situation, I can overcome it." And Vonn has done just that. She is set to make a comeback, thanks to her commitment to her physical rehabilitation and her tough spirit.
Training after injury is an important part of being able to return to both sports and the other parts of your life. This is where physical therapy becomes an integral part of your life. Your relationship with your physical therapists is crucial, and your outcomes depend on this interdependency.
Therapists are trained to ask hard questions and push you to make you achieve your goals. The jokes and the teasing between therapists and patients are part of the process of extending your limits and getting you to question what you really want in your life. It is a team effort, and your dedication and determination to your health is on the line. You may not compete in the Olympics in 2014, but you compete every day in life, and we want you to be ready.
Vonn's rehab was intense and brutal, and she had to be tough to endure the speed of her rehabilitation process. Her leg and core muscles were pushed to the limits because the Super-G race demands that of her body. In her race, she has to have the strength to be in a crouched squat position going at speeds of 40-50 miles an hour. That's quite intense. But she's doing it, and so can you!
So no excuses, no complaining, no canceling appointments just because. And when you want to skip your workout and your commitments to your health, remember what it takes to be an Olympian. Decide to be Vonn tough.
Tune into the Sochi Olympic Games in 2014 for the rest of Vonn's story. We're rooting for you, Lindsey!
Sheree DiBiase, PT, and her staff can be reached at Lake City Physical Therapy in their Coeur d'Alene office (208) 667-1988 or Spokane Valley office (509) 891-2623 for orthopedic and sports medicine rehab, so you can return fully to life and play.
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