Yong-Lin Athlete Interview Part 2
Yong-Lin Hu is a current junior at Arcadia High School. As an integral part of the Arcadia Varsity girls' track team, Hu is regarded among her peers as one of the best. However, her performance has been hindered in the past by injuries, including back strains and a broken arm. Unfortunately, this season has been no different, as she’s seen herself sidelined yet again. In this article, Nathan sits down with Yong-Lin to catch up.
Questions:
So where have you been since we last spoke with you? How have things been?
“Funnily enough, my back injury actually got worse since [the last time we spoke] (Thanksgiving break). Even though the pain was manageable then, usually going away overnight, during winter break it got significantly worse. I wasn't able to do regular running or sprinting workouts without being in immense pain. Every time I tried to sprint, I couldn't sit or lay down without experiencing sharp pain in my back. Because of this, I tried to take practices a lot easier, opting to do jogging workouts or going to PT in hopes of recovering enough to be able to compete when track season came. Unfortunately, this did not happen. Despite my back being in a pretty bad state before the [Arcadia mini] meet and my coach and I being fully aware of it, I ran the anchor leg in the 4x100, which was incredibly forceful on my back. Immediately after finishing the race, all the muscles in my lower back were screaming in pain–I couldn’t move my back at all without it hurting a lot. It was probably the most pain I’ve ever been in (and that speaks volumes, since I've broken my arms twice before). [After] lots of ibuprofen, I went to the doctor, got an MRI, and [received the diagnosis] that there was swelling and a minor L4 stress fracture. It was an overuse injury. Because my bone was injured, my muscles would intuitively tighten and spasm to prevent it from being further damaged, which would result in the pain I was familiar with. Although my months of PT were undoubtedly beneficial for my muscles, ultimately, the only effective treatment for my injury is rest, so I’m off for at least four weeks. Hopefully, I will be well enough to return to running during the tail end of the track season, but I won't be able to do any jumping or hurdling this year.”
Was there any one single cause to the recurrence of your back injury, or was it more of a chronic issue?
“I’ve been experiencing back pain since the end of my 10th grade track season, stemming from nearly daily hurdle and jump practices/competitions, which put a lot of force on my back. Compounded with my imbalances caused by scoliosis, it was especially strenuous on my back. I never gave it adequate time to just heal (at the time I thought taking easy jogs was good enough rest, but clearly it wasn’t) and pushed it too hard trying to do the events that I loved, so it never truly went away. But the fact that it just randomly got a lot worse after winter break? No clue what the reasoning behind that is.”
What comes next? Where do you see yourself at the end of the season?
“As of now, I’ve been told to wear a back brace to inhibit movement and I'm not allowed to do any exercising or lift anything heavy. My parents are also trying to include more calcium, collagen, etc in my diet as well to help with bone development. As for my role in the team, I'm doing my best to remain an active member of the team, shadowing my coaches so that I can offer as much support to my teammates as possible. I am trying to remain optimistic about making a recovery so I can return to compete, but I’m also trying to find peace/joy in just being able to support my friends as a bystander, just in case it takes longer than expected.”
How has this recurrence challenged you?
“Because of this injury, I’m completely barred from competing in my sport, presenting many challenges to my mental health.
a) I had so many things that I wanted to accomplish this season, especially since I underperformed in my season last year as well. But instead, I’m not even going to have the chance to do so because of my injury. I am so frustrated and disappointed about that. Some aspirations I had for the season included competing in the Stanford and Arcadia Invitationals, performing at a high enough level to potentially receive college recruitments, and making PRs that I failed to make last year.
b) It's been hard being forced to sit on the sideline watching other people, especially newcomers, being able to do and progress in events I pride myself on knowing that I myself can't. I’m scared that I’ll quickly get overshadowed and that all the work I put in the last two years will be rendered useless. Not only that, this injury occurred just as the opportunity to work with a new hurdle coach arose. I’ve been hearing him give a lot of great feedback and introduce a lot of interesting workouts, so I’m disappointed in all the things I’m missing out on. Honestly, a lot of times it's been difficult for me to happily watch the hurdlers work out because of that; sometimes I get jealous and scared that I’ll become resentful towards them.
c) I've been having debates in my mind about where I want to stand with track in the future. In general, my mental health and relationship with track have not been at their peak this year, but getting my injury was just the cherry on top. Part of me thinks that I need to detox from track for a semester or so and explore some other stuff so I can return more happy. Another part of me can't fathom leaving track and the people in it.”
Do you have any final thoughts?
“Take care of your body. Seriously. Seriously. Don't be impatient like me, and take breaks when you need to because if you don't do it yourself, the universe is going to make you. When times are tough, do your best to find joy in the small things! It’s okay to be sad, but make sure it doesn’t define you–make sure you are still able to appreciate the little sprinkles of light in your life.”
While sidelined for the next four weeks and undoubtedly forced to undergo a long road to recovery, Hu remains optimistic about a return this season. With this in mind, the staff at TMP wish her the best of luck and hope to see her back on the track in coming months.
