This week I have been fortunate enough to interview one of Britain’s most successful female athletes and in the interview below she shares her views on being injured and her experiences of working with different physiotherapists.
Donna Fraser is a former European Junior Champion and has won medals at the World Championships, Commonwealth Games, European Championships, European Indoor Championships, World Junior Championships and the European Junior Championships. Donna was an unlucky fourth at the Sydney Olympics in what is hailed as one of best 400m finals in Olympic history - she missed out on a medal by 0.07 of second.
Donna is currently 5th on the all time list for British female 400m runners and despite numerous injuries she has been at the forefront of British 400m running for 20 years. As a testament to her great ability at the age of 37 Donna was this year ranked as the top European indoor 200m sprinter and 5th for the 400m. Just prior to her recent retirement she won a silver medal at the World Indoor Championships in Torino.
FFS As one of Britain’s most successful female athletes how did you react to being injured during your career?
DF I don’t think any professional athlete wakes up without some kind of niggle, however my serious injuries initially never shocked me, but I had to undertake rehab, this was when it all hit home and sometimes I was very low and others quite upbeat.
FFS Did you have you own dedicated physiotherapist and how closely did you work with them during your career?
DF I’ve worked with several physios, however one in particular has worked with me for many years. He has bought me back time after time from injury and I trust him, which does help!
FFS What do you consider to be the worst injury you suffered?
DF That is a tough question… My worst injury was breaking my ankle, but the most painful and hardest injury to recover from was my Achilles.
FFS Can you explain more about the Achilles problems you had?
DF I’ve had Achilles problems from 1995 and through Olympic year 2000 but I was able to manage it. My Achilles finally had enough while training in the US in April 2001. This was when the Achilles Saga started. I tried all kinds of treatment, from radiotherapy in Germany to a “tapping” treatment in Australia. All of which temporarily worked, but for the long term I had to have surgery. In theory my Achilles took up 9 years of my career, although I was completely out of the sport for 2 ½ years because of it.
FFS How did you get on with the rehabilitation programs that were given to you?
DF I find rehab really boring and tedious but it has to be done in order to recover. My guru physio knew this and made some things fun for me which helped immensely.
FFS How important was the contribution of your physiotherapist in you returning to the track after an injury?
DF The contribution from my physio helped loads… He was an athlete once and knew how much he could push me and on occasions he would run with me and give me grueling tests to see where I was, which no other physio dared to do! In other words he pushed the boundaries with me.
FFS So a more involved physio is a better physio?
DF Absolutely! It is important that there is a great athlete/physio relationship…. If the athlete doesn’t believe in the physio then the healing process is not progressive and in turn if the physio doesn’t treat the athlete as an individual case, it can take twice as long to find the route of the problem. The physio needs to not only understand the physical aspect of the athlete but also his/her mental aspect.
FFS Do you feel that the injuries you suffered changed your career?
DF Well who knows? I do often think that if I didn’t get injured would I have continued in athletics as long as I did, or would I have become World Champ in 2001… I just don’t know! I do know it made me a better person and mentally stronger.
FFS Now that you are semi retired do you have any plans for the future?
DF Well I now work full time with EDF Energy. I’d like to have a break from athletics, as 20+ years is a long time. However eventually I would like to give something back to the sport and coach young athletes. Generally, I want to be “normal” for a while if that is possible! Eat what I like, train when I like etc!
Special thanks to Donna Fraser for consenting to the interview and providing such great answers. This will hopefully be the first of series of posts that will show professional athletes views on injury and how they cope with being injured.
www.fitforsportclinic.com
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