"Just walk it off"

Many injured athletes are encouraged to "play through the pain". One of many memorable athletes who "walked it off" and perservered through her pain to win is Kerri Strug. Take a mooment to view her experience here:

While many athletes are commended for persevering despite injury, there can be dire consequences for doing so. For example, recent attention has been directed toward the high incidence of brain trauma in football players leading to degenerative brain diseases like chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). "Shots to the head that don't necessarily cause obvious symptoms lead coaches and trainers to assume--mistakenly--that a player is fine to get back in the game. And sometimes athletes keep quiet about this type of injury because they want to keep playing" (Neporent, 2013, para. 13).

Share your thoughts on the idea of "playing through pain." What role should coaches and sports psychologists play in encouraging the performance of athletes, while also protecting their health? What recommendations would you make to injured athletes?

Neporent, L. (2013). Football Head Injuries Increasing Because of Bigger, Faster Players. Retrieved fromhttp://abcnews.go.com/Health/football-head-injuries-increasing-bigger-faster-players/story?id=18183735.