Recover Hard, Recover Smart

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Recover Hard Recover Smart is a podcast for athletes recovering from serious injury. Host AJ Davis, a state-level kayaker nine months into ACL rehab, talks with athletes, physios, coaches, and experts about the physical, mental, and social sides of getting back to sport. Recovery isn't just physical, and you don't have to figure it out alone.

10/11/2025

Self-Doubt, Loneliness, and Getting Back: Harry Moffitt

Harry Moffitt is a former SAS soldier turned psychologist who’s been blown up, burned, had a machete to his leg, and torn just about everything in his body over his career. He wrote a book called The Fourth Pillar about performance under pressure, and this conversation covers what he’s learned about injury recovery from both military and psychology perspectives. Harry talks about why long-term injuries are the hardest mentally (the loneliness, self-doubt, and shame of not being available to help), the importance of social connections during recovery, and why athletes who see sport as their only identity struggle more than soldiers who know their first career ends at 35. He explains the stoic principle that pain is inevitable but suffering is optional, and why your inner critic isn’t something to eliminate but rather to balance with other voices. The conversation covers how to know when your body can take more versus when it needs rest, why having something outside of sport makes you less fragile (not less competitive), and how to read The Fourth Pillar properly with a dictionary and pen. If you’re dealing with a long recovery and questioning whether you’ll get back, Harry’s perspective from extreme situations shows how mindset actually works. Key insights: Long-term injuries are mentally hardest because of loneliness, self-doubt, and shame. You might have support staff, but you’re still alone in the recovery process. Social connections matter more than expert advice during recovery. Having teammates and friends who support you beats perfect rehab programming. Your inner critic isn’t the enemy. You need that voice for important moments. The goal is balance, not silencing it completely. Athletes who see sport as everything struggle more than people with broader identities. Elite soldiers know their career ends at 35, so they’re mentally prepared for transition. Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. This stoic principle helps separate physical injury from the mental spiral that can come with it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

21 min
10/11/2025

When Your Teammates Keep Playing Without You: Zara Walsh

Zara Walsh plays footy for Sturt in the SANFL Women’s competition. She ruptured her ACL in round five going up for an uncontested mark and spent months working through recovery to get back on the field. This conversation is about the mental challenge of flipping the switch from feeling sorry for yourself to actually doing the rehab. Zara talks about losing motivation in the first couple of months after surgery, then finding accountability through her support team and scheduled gym sessions. She describes watching old game footage when she needed motivation, seeing her teammates continue playing and getting opportunities while she was sidelined, and the physical reality of one leg having no muscle while the other was fine. The conversation covers the importance of having teammates who’ve been through ACL recovery before, taking rehab one milestone at a time without rushing, and why she wishes she’d told herself to slow down instead of constantly pushing for the next thing. If you’re struggling to stay motivated or dealing with the isolation of watching your team play without you, Zara’s experience shows how to get through it. Key insights: Flipping the mental switch from self-pity to action is hard but necessary. You can feel sorry for yourself for a while, but eventually you need to work with what you’ve got. Having teammates who’ve done ACL recovery before matters. Izzy answered every question Zara had and provided support from someone who actually understood. Watching teammates continue playing and getting opportunities is one of the hardest parts. You want to be happy for them but you’re also stuck on the sidelines. Scheduled sessions create accountability. Having coaches and teammates waiting for you at the gym means you can’t bail when motivation drops. Taking time during recovery matters more than rushing. Zara reckons she pushed too hard and it’s affected how her knee feels now that she’s back playing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

14 min
10/11/2025

Pain Is Inevitable, Suffering Is Optional: David Olney

David Olney spent years working as a remedial therapist with elite athletes before becoming a university professor and consultant who worked with Special Operations Command, and currently working as a strategist with Talked About Marketing. He’s got a unique perspective on injury recovery because he’s seen how professional athletes, amateur athletes, and elite soldiers all handle setbacks differently. David talks about why professional athletes whose entire identity is wrapped up in sport often struggle more with chronic pain and longer recovery times compared to people who have other things in their lives. He explains what he learned from elite soldiers, who recover remarkably well from terrible injuries because they know their first career ends in their mid-thirties and they’ve already built transferable skills for their next move. The conversation covers stoicism, the idea that pain is inevitable but suffering is optional, and why putting all your eggs in the sport basket makes you fragile. David also shares his own experience giving up violin because of wrist pain from using his cane, and how he realised the teaching skills he’d built were transferable to his academic career. If you’re recovering from injury and worried about who you are without sport, this episode gives you a different way to think about it. Key insights: Athletes whose entire identity is sport struggle more with injuries. Professional players whose only job is their sport face more chronic pain and longer recovery times, possibly because of the psychological pressure. Elite soldiers recover remarkably well from serious injuries because they know soldiering ends in their mid-thirties. They’ve already built transferable skills for their second career. Sport is about transferable skills, not just medals. Discipline, teamwork, dealing with pressure – these work in corporate environments, emergency services, anywhere you apply them. Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. This stoic principle helps separate the physical reality of injury from the mental spiral that can come with it. Your competitive drive doesn’t disappear when you find other interests. Having art, relationships, and academic focus outside kayaking made AJ less fragile, not less competitive. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

19 min
10/11/2025

The Medical Side of ACL Recovery: Dr Travis Brown

Dr Travis Brown is a pathologist and co-host of the This Medical Life podcast. He doesn’t specialise in ACL injuries, but he knows plenty about what can go wrong after surgery. This conversation covers the medical stuff that matters during recovery: why they tell you to keep your scars clean, what blood clots actually are, and how to know if something’s wrong. Travis explains why tendons and ligaments take so long to heal compared to muscle (it’s the blood supply), what happens if you use a tendon from a dead body instead of your own, and why staph infections are dangerous near surgical sites. He breaks down what blood clots do to your body, how immobility after surgery increases your risk, and why leg swelling is the main warning sign to watch for. The conversation keeps it practical: what waterproof bandaids actually do, why you take blood thinners, and what that yellow stuff means if you see it on your scar. If you’re recovering from surgery or about to have it, this episode gives you the medical knowledge to understand what your body’s doing and when to worry. Key insights: Tendons and ligaments heal slowly because they have poor blood supply compared to muscle. That’s why ACL recovery takes months, not weeks. Using your own tendon for ACL surgery works better than using one from a cadaver. Your body repairs it over time regardless, but recovery is smoother with your own tissue. Keeping surgical scars clean matters because you’ve created an artificial track into your joint. If infection gets in, it can cause septic arthritis, which is serious. Blood clots form when you’re immobile after surgery. They block blood flow, which starves areas of oxygen. One-sided leg swelling is the main sign to watch for. Orthopedic patients automatically go on blood thinners because the surgery plus reduced mobility increases clot risk significantly. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

17 min
10/11/2025

From MVP to Second ACL Surgery: Lucinda Silvestri

Lucinda Silvestri is an Australian lacrosse player who won MVP at senior national champs after recovering from her first ACL. Five months after returning to play, she did her second ACL in the grand final. This conversation is about what it’s like to go through ACL recovery twice and how your mindset changes when you already know you can get back. Lucinda talks about the first ACL happening 30 seconds into a grand final, trying to keep playing, and then her knee completely giving way. She describes the setbacks during rehab, the weeks where nothing seemed to improve, and how her support team kept her accountable when motivation disappeared. The second time around, she had confidence from knowing her first knee felt good again, but watching teammates go to Aussie camps while she was sidelined was still hard. This episode covers the mental challenge of staying motivated through slow progress, the importance of having people who understand the physical rehab process, and why trust in the process matters more the second time. If you’re facing a second injury or wondering whether you’ll ever feel the same again, Lucinda’s experience shows what’s possible. Key insights: Going through ACL recovery a second time is different because you have proof you can get back. The doubts aren’t as strong when one knee already feels solid. Slow progress is normal. Some weeks you work on something constantly and it doesn’t improve. Then breakthrough moments come randomly. Support team accountability matters. Having scheduled sessions with coaches meant Lucinda couldn’t bail when motivation dropped. Watching teammates continue playing and getting opportunities you’d be part of is one of the hardest mental challenges. You want to be happy for them but you’re also stuck on the sidelines. Small sports create opportunities. Lacrosse isn’t as competitive as massive sports, so you get exposure to elite environments earlier, which helps with motivation during recovery. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

13 min
10/11/2025

Three Phases of ACL Recovery: Hamish Eglinton

Hamish is a strength and conditioning coach at SASI (South Australian Sports Institute) who wrote AJ’s ACL rehab program. This conversation breaks down what actually goes into building a recovery program, from the first phase focused on getting normal range of motion back, through to sports-specific movements and running. Hamish explains why ACL rehab is so different from regular strength training, how he decides when you’re ready to progress to the next phase, and why some people recover in nine months while others take two and a half years. He talks about metrics like the 85% strength ratio between your injured and healthy leg, the anti-gravity treadmill for getting back to running, and why patience matters more than anything else. The conversation covers what’s standardised in ACL programs versus what gets customised for each athlete, how to know when you’re pushing too hard, and why so many people re-injure themselves by rushing back to sport. If you’re in ACL rehab or supporting someone who is, this episode gives you the practical knowledge you need about what’s actually happening in your program and why. Key insights: ACL rehab has three main phases: range of motion, strength building, and sports-specific movements. Each phase has specific goals before you progress. Progression isn’t guesswork. Coaches use metrics like the 85% strength ratio between your injured and healthy legs to know when you’re ready for more complex exercises. Every ACL rehab is different. Some people recover smoothly in nine months. Others face complications that stretch recovery to years. The anti-gravity treadmill lets you start running again at reduced body weight, building volume without overloading your healing knee. Patience is everything. Research shows high re-injury rates, often because people rush back before they’re ready. Long-term health matters more than the next game. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

12 min
10/11/2025

Rebuilding After Knee Surgery: Erin Inglis

Erin Inglis was a state hockey player for SA Under 16s when her knee kept dislocating. Three times. In November 2024, she had surgery to repair her patella tendon and move the bone to stop it happening again. Now she’s nine months into rehab, and she talks honestly about what that’s been like. This conversation covers the physical side of losing 90% of your quad strength and watching your knee shake doing exercises that used to be easy. It gets into the mental battle of finding motivation when you’re on pain meds and everything hurts. And it touches on what helped Erin keep going: her family, her gym buddy, and messages from teammates saying they miss her. Erin’s a goalkeeper, and her club needs her. She’s planning to play two teams next year and try out for state again if she gets the chance. But right now, she’s focused on getting through the rehab, one physio session at a time. Key insights: Knee surgery rehab isn’t just about the ACL. There are different injuries that need different approaches, but the mental and physical struggles are similar. Losing strength is hard to see. When exercises you could do easily before surgery now make your knee shake, it messes with your head. Your support team matters. Family reminding you of the end goal, a gym buddy who shows up, and mates messaging you from training all make a difference. Recovery timelines are real. Six to twelve months for knee injuries means you need to stay patient, even when setbacks happen. Pain and motivation are connected. It’s harder to stay motivated when you’re in pain, but as healing happens, the mental side gets easier too. If you’re recovering from knee surgery, or you’re supporting someone who is, this episode shows you’re not alone in finding it hard. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

10 min

7 Episodes

Recover Hard Recover Smart is a podcast for athletes recovering from serious injury. Host AJ Davis, a state-level kayaker nine months into ACL rehab, talks with athletes, physios, coaches, and experts about the physical, mental, and social sides of getting back to sport. Recovery isn't just physical, and you don't have to figure it out alone.

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Recover Hard, Recover Smart