Last year, after a squash practice, my coach pulled me aside and told me: “We know you’re not actually injured, it is only a mental thing.”

At the time, I have been playing squash for almost 10 years and I’ve been dealing with my shoulder injury for roughly a year, during which I got diagnosed by multiple doctors. Yet, sending my coach MRI scans and doctor’s notes meant nothing, he still believed that my injury was just an excuse to skip games.

After endless emails and talks, he made me go back onto the court before I was ready. My shoulder became worse than ever, and even though I managed to push through some games, I got re-injured again. The injury threatened my entire senior season and sometimes made daily life a struggle, as even opening the classroom door seemed impossible on some days.

Coaches play an important role in players’ decisions, and their pressure often forces players to return to play when they are not fully ready. As authority figures in charge of the team, coaches have huge influence over how athletes see strength and value.

Stop staying “tough it out”

Two Stanford researchers described a high-school quarterback with a severe shoulder injury who, fearing the loss of college-recruiting opportunities, pushed through against medical advice: “I needed to be back on the field, regardless of readiness.” One careless comment, like saying “rest is lazy”, can drown out a doctor’s advice, making players think their only option is to gut it out.

This approach not only ignores proper medical advice but also teaches athletes to silence both their bodies and their minds to avoid getting in trouble or losing time on the field.

Recovery over bravado

Returning back to the games before fully recovered from injuries not only puts the athletes in a higher risk of re-injuring, it also affects the athletes’ mental health. Physically, this means torn ligaments, longer recovery times and chronic pain, mentally – sleepless nights, constant worry, and feeling alone.

Until sports organisations enforce policies like independent medical clearance, mandatory mental-health check-ins, and formal use of readiness scales, this cycle of harm will keep going.

A good example of this culture comes from Swarthmore College’s women basketball team, where multiple former players (2013–2019) described the head coach dismissing serious injuries. Zoe Walker’s leg swelled to twice its normal size, yet the coach Brown called her “not tough enough” and refused to let her sit out until a doctor warned that she “could have died of a pulmonary embolism.”

Some might argue that pressure motivates athletes into better performance. That uses the NFL’s “keep playing” mindset as proof that pushing through pain builds champions. They celebrate players who return mid-season from major injuries and still win games, saying it shows real toughness.

And another study found that 34% of NFL players believe they have CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy).

I believe that true strength isn’t about pretending pain doesn’t exist — it’s about knowing when to rest and choosing recovery over risky bravado.

Therefore as a society, instead of valuing playing through pain, we should allow the athletes to take their time to recover and offer support if needed. This is the only way to get rid of this toxic side of competitive sports.