In the last issue Andrew Craig asked “What would you do if you were injured in a flying accident?” For some of those he spoke to the answer was clear: they stopped flying and never looked back. For others, it was harder: they loved the sport and so they worked hard to recover and come back to flying.
York-Peter Klöppel is head of mental performance at the Red Bull Athlete Performance Center in Salzburg, Austria. Established 20 years ago this year, the APC today stands as a high-performance rehabilitation and testing centre for athletes from numerous different sports, including Formula 1, cliff diving, snowboarding, paragliding and many more. Red Bull sponsor more than 800 sports people across 90 sports, including a significant number in extreme sports and adventure sports, which means there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, rehabilitation and recovery programs are tailor-made for each athlete, from teenage skateboard sensations to 25-year-old surfers and 50-year-old sailors.
And while a broken adult collar bone or ankle will heal in six to eight weeks regardless of who you are or what sport you do,...
