At a university swimming pool, a diver launches forward and then rotates backward for a reverse dive — but they don’t have enough height or distance from the board, and the back of their head cracks against it. Across campus, a gymnast lands wrong during a tumbling routine and badly injures their back. And on the football field, two players collide and one is left unconscious on the turf. In each of these hypothetical scenarios, athletes have endured bodily harm, an experience that can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder.
Almost everyone will experience a traumatic event at least once in their life, but not everyone develops PTSD. Studies have found the general population has a lifetime rate near 9 percent. Certain groups, however, undergo experiences that make them more prone to PTSD; military members, for example, have rates as high 38 percent. Similarly, about 18 percent of nurses and 33 percent of ICU nurses meet the diagnostic criteria for PTSD.
