by Liz Bonis, WKRC

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CINCINNATI (WKRC) – Injury recovery is top of mind for many athletes, including those who have to play through injuries, as that’s often called.

But whether that is a recent sprain or strain or even a more serious injury that had to be previously repaired, there’s a sort of a science sports medicine specialists say to getting players back in the game.

Dr. Adam Metzler is a knee specialist at OrthoCincy.

He is also the sideline physician for many of the high school football and basketball teams.

His goal always is to prevent injuries, but he says there is a way to set players up for success.

Sometimes it is pre-hab before surgery and sometimes it’s rehab afterward, but you also have to give players the confidence to play following an injury or they aren’t able to live up to their full potential.

“Any injury you need to set that psychological precedence. For example, with a small meniscus tear, we may get you back with a scope in two to four weeks a repair may take longer, so yeah, it’s important to set tone from a psychological standpoint when they are going to return and when they are not going to return and having clear expectations, because you need to be clear from the beginning on what options are available,” said Dr. Metzler.

Dr. Metzler says especially with knee injuries, one other concern is avoiding reinjury.

“You know, it’s challenging, you have maybe a grade one level hamstring, one of our high level receivers or running backs, and you don’t want to that to progress to a level two or three and miss the whole season,” Dr. Metzler said.

He does say, however, proper timing after an injury of getting a player back to play is likely critical; in other words, you have to look long term when it comes to proper play time and healing.