Athens, Ga. (April 12, 2023) — The Sports Medicine department at Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center named Kyrsten Watts, a senior basketball and track athlete at Madison County High School, Athlete of the Month. Each month, the program gives an award to a student athlete who has shown perseverance while dealing with an injury or illness.
Watts had been diagnosed with chronic ankle instability when she suffered a global ankle sprain and was forced off the basketball court for nearly a month. She required aggressive and consistent rehabilitation, which involved daily sessions of both therapeutic modalities and exercise to promote a quick recovery.
"Even though Kyrsten was focused on her recovery, she never missed a single basketball practice or game," said Amy Hoyt, MAT, LAT, ATC, a Piedmont Athens Regional Orthopedic Sports Medicine athletic trainer assigned to Madison County High School. "She was not only cheering on her teammates from the bench during games but also offering tips and feedback to help improve their performance."
An ankle sprain is the result of the foot twisting, rolling, or turning in a way that is not normal. This abnormal motion causes the ligaments to stretch beyond their normal range, resulting in injury. Repeated injuries to the ankle ligaments can result in chronic ankle instability and a feeling of weakness in the ankle.
"With Kyrsten’s history of ankle injuries, we anticipated her rehabilitation time to be around four to six weeks," said Hoyt. "However, Kyrsten was incredibly committed to the rehab process and was able to return to play in about three and a half weeks, and she still elects to do daily rehab exercises to keep herself healthy. She is an incredibly driven athlete."
The Piedmont Athens Regional Orthopedic Sports Medicine team established the Athlete of the Month program to recognize the dedication of student athletes in the area.
"The athletes we work with are truly amazing and have to overcome so much in order to play sports again after an injury or illness," said Katie Terrell, athletic trainer and outreach coordinator for the hospital’s sports medicine program. "The award was developed to celebrate their hard work in our sports medicine rehab program. Each month, we focus on one high school and meet as a committee, which includes the school’s athletic director, other members of their team, and members of the athletic training program."
As the Athlete of the Month, Watts received a certificate and is featured in the Orthopedic Sports Medicine facility located on Piedmont’s Oconee Health Campus in Watkinsville, Ga.
Find out more information about orthopedic services offered at Piedmont Athens Regional.