Imagine being a 16-year-old athlete, with your whole future ahead of you. You spend all your time playing, thinking and dreaming about soccer. Then, your season abruptly comes to an end with a ligament injury and your doctor tells you there’s no soccer for six months, at best.

Our Sports Medicine team knows this scenario all too well. We see athletes of all kinds encounter this, and six months later, they are back on the field. They often express disappointment and anxiety early in the cycle, but their drive to conquer rehabilitation and return to sports wins in the end.

Unfortunately, we also see some athletes that can’t quite get past that anxiety about returning to sports. “If there are any additional stressors at home or school, injury recovery can be a difficult process,” according to Dr. Sandy Roland, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children’s Director of Psychology. She says that being a teenager is tough, but dealing with a life-changing sports injury on top of underlying stressors like depression, family tension or tough social environments can be too much for some to handle.

Dr. Roland works closely with the sports medicine team to identify concerning signs and symptoms in our injured athletes. Though it’s only a small part of the care we provide, it’s a critical component to pediatric sports medicine. It’s another way we are taking care of the whole athlete, and not just the injury.

Parents, you should ask your child’s medical provider for help if you notice changes in any of these:

• Sleep patterns
• Decreased attention or concentration in school
• Worsening grades
• Socialization patterns like less time with friends
• Mood