Moving through injury and mental blocks to become an unstoppable lacrosse force.
“You will need surgery, and be out at least 4 months.” Words spoken by a Doctor to an athlete that are cringe-worthy. Words that any athlete feels sick to hear, and then the mind starts to run wild. Will I ever play again? How long am I out? What do I do next? Where do I go from here? Can I play in college now?
Injury is not just about the tissue itself, or about how quickly it heals. Injury affects the physical, mental, and emotional states of the athlete. There tends to be a loss that occurs following an injury, especially one that takes you out of your sport for a period of time. The athlete experiences a trauma, and then not only has to come back from the physical trauma, become stronger, and heal, but also is in need of clearing the fear of the injury. In need of clearing the mental block that they could possibly get injured again, re-injured, or not play up to their former potential.
Victoria Orozco in action playing lacrosse.
In this edition of Body Mechanics Physical Therapy Athlete Spotlight, I spoke with Victoria Orozco, current Puerto Rico Lacrosse National Team player, Reinhardt University verbal commit, and former Lees-McRae College women’s lacrosse player. We talked about her HS career-ending injury, her return to lacrosse through physical therapy and training, and how she came to be on the Puerto Rico National Team.
Victoria first realized her desire to play at the collegiate level late her Junior year, and decided that she needed more training and preparation. She joined The Lax Box’s first club team, Jax Surge, the summer going into her senior year of HS to improve her skills and be ready for the collegiate level.
“They pushed me to be the best version...and to always dream big. And with their help and the different showcases and tournaments I verbally committed to play division two lacrosse at Lees-McRae College, two weeks before my senior (high-school) season.”
After committing to play lacrosse at Lees-McRae, the unforeseeable happened. April 18th, 2018, Victoria suffered a career-ending injury during a high school district playoff game; she collided with a teammate, got tripped up and fell to the ground on her left shoulder, fracturing and displacing her collarbone. She was in shock and pain, and felt like lacrosse was done for her. She underwent surgery and was out from lacrosse for 4 months. Once cleared by her doctor’s it was time for her to get back to work, learning to play lacrosse with that left arm, almost all over again.
She first came into Body Mechanics Physical Therapy after surgery and recovering from the fracture in the winter of her freshman year at Lees-McRae. Because she was unable to play all through the summer and for the first month of fall ball, she noticed she was not playing up to her potential. She was cleared by her doctor’s to play, and her collarbone was healed, but she still did not feel completely confident about using or taking pressure into the left shoulder. During her rehab, and strength and conditioning at Body Mechanics PT, we worked on the mental blocks that she was having, helping to restore her confidence in the shoulder through a series of strengthening, stability, and mobility exercises, visualization, and tactical/de-sensitization training. That spring season at Lees-McRae, Victoria went on to be the #2 leading scorer on the team, along with racking up 25 overall points, 23 goals, 2 assists, 14 ground balls, 6 caused turnovers, and one draw control in her freshman season.
“After receiving rehab with Dr. Meghan I didn't think I would have the season I did but I proved myself wrong. I love being a collegiate athlete.”
Victoria Orozco - Puerto Rico Lacrosse Team.
Currently, Victoria has since left Lees-McRae to pursue her college lacrosse career at Reinhardt University, as well as tryout and play on the Puerto Rico National Team, representing her culture and the new opportunities lacrosse has given to her. She will be playing in the PALA (Pan-American Lacrosse Association) qualifying tournament November 14-17, 2019 for Team Puerto Rico in hopes to clinch a spot in the FIL Women’s Lacrosse World Cup in 2021. She is most excited that she is able to represent her country and her heritage, as well as play alongside a new family on the field, and promote and represent something bigger than herself.
“Dr. Braun is incredible and I can't thank her or The Lax Box enough for everything they've done for me and the community”
We are proud of you Victoria, here at Body Mechanics and The Lax Box! Continue to do great things, and represent North Florida in your endeavors of truly GROWING THE GAME!
You can follow Victoria and her National Team journey on Instagram @vic_lax27. Also @thelaxboxfl and @bodymechpt for more BMPT Athlete Spotlights!
Written by: Dr. Meghan Braun: Doctor of Physical Therapy, Owner of Body Mechanics PT and Co-Founder of The Lax Box
