It was just like any other game and any other play for Lexi Sullivan, NAU volleyball’s sophomore outside hitter. She attempted a kill at the net as she often does, but this one did not end up as a point for NAU. It ended up being her worst nightmare.

On Sept. 17, in her first game back from a lower back injury, Sullivan reinjured herself early in a contest against Idaho State. She went up for a kill but landed sideways on her foot, putting abnormal pressure on her knee and popping it. She completely tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and partially injured her medial cruciate ligament (MCL), meniscus and patella.

“I have never had a serious injury before,” Sullivan said. “But once I felt my knee pop, I knew I would be out for a while.”

The diagnosis: out for the season, and her knee will not be at full strength until July 2010.

“I was super mad when I heard my diagnosis,” Sullivan said. “I was so excited to play with my new teammates and have a fun and successful year with the girls.”

Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer Sarah Shute helps sophomore volleyball player Lexi Sullivan work on her range of motion as part of an ongoing recovery workout to help with her torn ACL. Matt Beaty / The Lumberjack

When one thinks of athletic injuries, most think of injuries as exclusively on-the-court issues, but in reality, athletes’ lives are affected just as much as their game.

The most common sports injuries happen in the knees because it is the largest and most complex joint in the body and supports most of an athlete’s weight. A knee injury can affect a person’s most simple movements; even sitting down can be painful. The knee’s internal structure is extremely susceptible to tearing when it is forcefully rotated or bent, making sports a very dangerous activity for such a sensitive body part.

Since Sullivan’s ACL is completely torn, she is required to have her knee surgically repaired. According to Kevin Mahon, a certified strength and conditioning specialist at DeRosa Physical Therapy, the body needs recovery time after surgery, and ACLs and other ligament injuries in the knee call for long recovery downtimes.

“The ACL is the primary stabilizer in the knee,” DeRosa said. “With complete ACL or MCL tears, major reconstruction is required. Once that surgical procedure is done, the knee does not start to mature for four to six months, and that is why athletes are often out for the season.”

Mahon said the downtime after surgery is sometimes the toughest part of the injury for athletes. They often desire to get back to their team, but the post-surgery process can often delay that from happening.

“There is a considerable amount of atrophy during the downtime after surgery,” Mahon said. “We work with them to first and foremost address pain and swelling, and then aggressively rehabilitate them with strengthening and sport-specific training until their body is completely healthy.”

Sullivan said she respect the seriousness of their injuries and embrace the facts that they have to live with those injuries and healing is more important than playing.

“Injuries can take a lot out of you mentally,” Sullivan said. “But the wait will teach you patience, and you can become mentally stronger when you recover and go back out on the court.”

If all goes as planned, the athlete can return to the lineup after intense post-surgery rehabilitation. Some players come back just as they were before their injury and do not skip a beat in their performance. More commonly, however, NAU volleyball head coach Craig Choate said some athletes return to the court and are initially timid and cautious.

“When you come back from an injury, you are functionally and physically 100 percent sound,” Choate said. “But you have to land funny, throw yourself on the ground or do something all of the sudden to realize that it did not hurt and that you are okay. You need that realization to get back on the horse.”

A common myth among the general public about athletic injuries is the older a player gets, the longer they have to wait to recover. However, Mahon said while age is a factor, it is not as big a deterrent as most people think, and there are a number of individuals who are recovering more quickly at older ages.

“The severity of reconstructive surgery, regardless of age, requires a four to six month recovery,” Mahon said. “Sometimes the end result is relatively the same, but aches, pains and struggles are different along the way for older people. Athletes, though, are such unique individuals because they work extremely hard, and they are highly motivated, so they can recover a lot better and be closer to the four-month mark of downtime.”

Breaking bones can change an athlete’s life just as much as breaking records. Mahon said athletes must follow their rehabilitation one healthy step at a time if they ever want to be where they were athletically again, and if they do not, their career will not be the only thing with which they are gambling. And for Sullivan, a better quality of life is worth the wait.