"Whenever I go on Twitter I will often see one of the FIH’s (International Hockey Federation) tweets counting down the days to the World Cup. The excitement for the tournament is building, but in all honesty whenever I catch a glimpse of it I get a sickening tug in the pit of my stomach." So says England star midfielder Helen Richardson-Walsh.
The reason for Helen's angst is a back problem. Not just any old back problem but the reoccurrence of a disc problem. Helen describes it: "Just 11 months ago the disc that sits between L4 and L5 in the vertebrae decided to finally give up after having been prolapsed since 2006. By giving up I mean it ruptured, and the exploding fragments started causing havoc by floating around my spinal cord and pressing on the nerves going down my legs. The pain was just excruciating, a dull ache lingered constantly all the way down to my calf. A sharp pain intermittently made it impossible to get comfortable, leaving me tired, drained and often brought to tears."
"After four months I successfully made it back to playing hockey, but now it seems the same thing has happened. When the doctor called me with the results I completely and utterly lost it. I was in physio and I don’t think she knew what to make of me. With tears streaming down my face all I was thinking was, that’s it, my career’s over, I’ll never play again!'
As it turned out Helen does still have a chance of making it to The Hague, but the process relies on great physio, a patient approach from Helen herself and a complete adherence to, and trust in, the rehabilitation process.
If Helen is looking for a sign that rehabilitation can be successful, she need look no further than another England player, the men's goal keeper George Pinner. George was diagnosed with a tear in his medial cruciate ligament and the first assessment prepared him for the worst. George says: "I was told that best case scenario I had torn my MCL and would be out for 10 weeks; worst case, I would need a reconstruction and would be out of action for three to six months. I just thought that I had wasted two years of my life because I wouldn't get to play in the World Cup."
However, through hard work by George and the support of the England physiotherapy team George was back playing in just six weeks, giving him vital preparation time before the World Cup. He played club hockey in the England Hockey League Finals before taking his place between the sticks for the Four Nations tournament in Glasgow. His coach Bobby Crutchley even saw a silver lining to his injury: "I don't think an enforced break has done George any harm at all. He has played a lot of hockey and this has given him a break."
On Twitter:
Helen Richardson-Walsh: @h_richardson8
George Pinner @GCP01
