Sport Writer Cerys Holliday talks to Netball Co-President Freya Bignell about what it is like to have a long-term injury in the age of COVID-19
Freya Bignell, UoB Netball’s 2020/21 Co-President, knows the hardships of having a long-term injury. What many cannot relate to, however, is experiencing all the inevitable ups and downs during a pandemic.
‘Injury is an isolating experience. I started to feel depressed, and it reached a point where I didn’t want to leave my room.’
Towards the latter end of an unbeatable season, a fall in training left Bignell in need of urgent medical assistance. This immediately put a stop to any hope of being able to see out the rest of the season.
‘We were playing a friendly in training and I landed badly. I knew straight away something was wrong, and that something ended up being two ruptured knee ligaments – my ACL and MCL, and a torn meniscus.’
I knew straight away something was wrong, and that something ended up being two ruptured knee ligaments
While allowing herself to laugh when listing the severity of her injuries, Bignell reflects over how something that happened so quickly and unexpectedly turned her world on its axis.
‘It was heart-breaking for my season to end that way given how close we were to being champions and getting to the BUCS Final. The season was going from strength to strength and I missed out on the final bit.
‘I cried a lot,’ she explains, giving off a shrug while laughing somewhat self-deprecatingly. ‘I couldn’t walk, I could barely do simple tasks. It really bashed my confidence.’
The severity of her injury meant Bignell’s best hope was to wait for an operation. With the pandemic’s lockdown measures being introduced, she waited just over 6 months to go under the knife.
‘Well, lockdown didn’t help,’ Bignell again jokes through a laugh. ‘Not knowing what was going on because everyone was in quarantine was the worst. I’m just glad that I’ve finally had the op and can move on from that.’
With her operation being a success, Bignell notes that she was not expecting the recovery to be as intense as she is finding it.
All rehab is done through a Zoom call because physios aren’t allowed to touch you
‘All rehab is done through a Zoom call because physios aren’t allowed to touch you. I feel like I could be doing movements wrong and no one would know.’
In turn, Bignell goes into detail on how having such a severe injury has affected her mental health.
‘I’ve struggled mentally more than I have physically. I didn’t realise how much pressure I put on myself to get better until now.
‘With netball, mentally, I didn’t want to be there. Sitting on the sides watching isn’t where I wanted to be. I wanted to be playing.’
Talking now 3 weeks post-op, Bignell breaks down her progress so far.
‘So, at the minute, I’m in the ‘Return to Walking’ stage. I’ve lost a lot of muscle mass in my [injured] leg, so it’s about getting some of that back.
I definitely never want to go back to where I found myself mentally
‘It’s a slow process, but I’m reminded by my physio that you ‘don’t define rehab by time, but by how you feel’. I still can’t feel part of my leg because of a femoral nerve block mid-operation,” Bignell explains, eyebrows raised in amazement accompanied by a recurring laugh – not trying to hide any humour she has found behind her situation. ‘I feel a lot happier now I’m able to be more independent, but I definitely never want to go back to where I found myself mentally.’
When discussing how her mentality towards injury and rehabilitation changed overtime, Bignell explains how she managed to try and stay positive throughout the months of desperately waiting for her surgery date.
‘I tried to stay as busy as I could. My friends massively helped with taking my mind off my knee, and I tried to spend as much time with people as I could pre-lockdown.
‘I wanted to stay motivated, so as time went on, I started to make a diary of sorts through making an injury Instagram page where I could share my progress. I would have loved to have had someone who knew exactly what I was going through telling me everything is going to be okay, and now if anyone in a similar position were to look at my posts, I hope that they’d know that it does get better.’
Going into her final year at UoB, Bignell will instead take her netball knowledge to the committee side of things, sharing the role as Club President this coming season.
‘I guess the only real plus of being injured is that I can focus on helping the netball club expand and improve. I’m excited to be an asset towards that, but I’m also equally determined to make a full recovery and be prepared to be back on the courts by the 2021/22 season.’
Freya’s honest recount of her injury journey, rehabilitation, and progress can be followed on her Instagram: @freya_kneehab.
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