Jett’s in the loop – and that’s a problem

In late 2015 an Australia family packed up and left for Europe to support their teenage athlete children’s motorcross dreams.  Hunter was Jett was 16 years of age, and his younger brother Jett was 12. They spend about three years in Europe racing before achieving the bigger picture goal of gaining the opportunity to compete in the US supercross and motorcross seasons.

Their competitive success to date has left no doubt that they are amongst the greatest athlete exports out of Australia.  So great, one or both could challenge for the title of GOAT – greatest of all time, in US super/moto cross racing history. Of the two Jett is currently more dominative – when he is on the track.

And that’s the challenge for Jett. The greatest challenge for Jett in achieving the GOAT status are potential injuries. In the AMA 450cc Supercross class, Jett has completed one out of three seasons. He won the season completed. In the AMA 450cc Motorcross  class, Jett has completed one out of three seasons. He won both of the seasons he completed.

That’s a total of 3 seasons out of six or 50% completion.

While many ask whether he is going to be the next GOAT, perhaps a more pertinent question may be to understand why he is in the situation where he has a combined season completion rate in the 450cc class of 50%.

I suggest that Jett’s in ‘the loop’. The injury loop as I call it. And that’s a problem.

The aim of this article is to discuss the ‘loop’.  Ideally, we would be discussing the cause of the injuries in the first place, however that would be for most too esoteric. So, at the shallow level of public discourse, I will stick with the less disputable – the injury loop.

The challenge for me is witnessing greatness being jeopardized by the preventable. The talent is indisputable. But is it going to be unfulfilled?

The Loop

The injury loop is where an athlete gets an injury, fails to rehabilitate fully before returning to competition, and suffers another injury as a result of that failure. [1]  I have spoken about this phenomenon for a number of decades now.

This is what most people do. They get a niggle, they ignore it. The niggle kind of keeps coming back. They say it can’t be so, because their left brain will tell them it can’t be so. They ignore it. Now perhaps at some point in time it gets so bad they’ll go and see someone and get ineffective treatment. It won’t work.

They’ll keep training and then they’ll blow up. They’ll have a tear. They’ll have an injury. Then they’ll get poor rehabilitation. They won’t fix the cause. They’ll address the symptom. They’ll go back to training. They’ll either blow the same thing, or they’ll blow the other side. And this is a pattern that continues to repeat itself.

So, I cannot stress enough. If your body is telling you there’s something not right, fix it. When we’re young we think we’re bulletproof. When we get a little bit older, reality sets in. You should be wiser beyond your years when it comes to the pain message from the body. Do not ignore your body. Find somebody who can help you remove that little niggle. Do not wait until it becomes an injury. Do not injure yourself before you cease training.[2] [3]

Predictable and preventable. Now, according to some, injuries can only be avoided through divine intervention. That’s a theory. There are many theories, but mine is human intervention can actually prevent because you can predict them. So, what we’ll be doing today is showing you how very briefly to look at a joint and say, ‘this is what’s going to happen.’

So, after trauma, what happens next?  We have some form of treatment or intervention. So, the intervention comes in two forms. The intervention can either be through treatment of some kind, or it can come through surgery.

And most treatments are ineffective and ultimately end in surgery anyway.

And this is a loop. I get a pain message, I ignore it, it goes away, I get it again, I ignore it, and you start looping down here and ultimately there’s trauma, which brings us to our next level. After trauma, we go through a period of rehabilitation. And then we return to training. And then what happens next? The cycle begins again. I’m not being cynical, I’m being literal. The cycle begins again. They either injure the same side again, or they injure the opposite side, or contralateral.

So, the other side in that plane, to the back, to the other side, or the front to the other side. So basically, the first inhibition here will lead to all these things and will lead to a subsequent injury.  So, the cycle goes round and round in circles until the person can’t train and has to quit physical activity or retire from sport. So, with my approach to prevention of injury as being the most important thing a physical preparation coach does, nobody will get surgery, and everything below here becomes redundant. [4] [5]

Sometimes the lack of full rehabilitation is caused by impatience. Sometimes by incompetence on the part of the support team. Sometimes it neither but instead a high-level concept that is outside the awareness of the majority.

Either way there are two indisputable facts – one, it could be prevented. And two, it is going to cause future injuries and negatively impact the duration and or height of the athlete’s career.

Jett’s injuries

Dec 2025 – Fractured right ankle (talus and navicular), surgery

July. 2024 – Torn left thumb ligament (ulnar collateral ligament), surgery

2-25 – ACL tear, meniscus damage, right knee, surgery

Solutions

Rather than simply criticize what’s going on, I provide some guidance for those are looking for a better way to return to sport from injury.

• Respect the niggle
• Fix the niggle – fast
• Get the best guidance possible
• Establish clarity around risk : reward outcomes
• Have a clear time frame
• Ensure optimal rate of rehab
• Create a progressive return to sport plan
• Have pre-determined milestones for determine when to return to eath progressive level of sport
• Stop with the ‘injuries in sport are normal’ attitude

Respect the niggle

The body sends messages about pain and impending injury potential

… generally speaking, most people get a niggle and they ignore it. They get a niggle and then someone else tells them to ignore it. And they get a niggle, and they go to someone and they say, ‘Oh, I don’t know about it, I don’t really know.’ And six months later, it’s a big problem. So, they’ll sit out for a few weeks, and they’ll come back and it’s okay now and they’ll get injured again… A few weeks from now, they’ll be out for a few more months, and it’ll just go like this. This is how sport’s done.[6]

Fix the niggle – fast

I suggest you respect the message, which I call a niggle. And fix it immediately. [7]

The second thing that happens, you get to know about it at this point in time, is you get some sort of symptom or pain. You get a message from the body.

And I’ll call it pain, but most people don’t describe it as pain because it’s too low level. It’s more like a niggle. They feel a niggle. And typically, we ignore it. Or we tell someone about it and they say, ‘oh, it’ll go away shortly, don’t worry about it.’ Or tell me about it if it’s still there in two weeks’ time. The bottom line is it’s really just, now that’s the body giving you a message. There’s something wrong, fix it. Most of us ignore the message. Now there’s also a left-brain desire not to have the problem, so it doesn’t exist, doesn’t exist, put your head in the sand and hope it goes away. My approach to this is I remove the niggle within the first 24 hours.

My approach to this is I remove the niggle within the first 24 hours. I want to get rid of all niggles within the first 24 hours. That means two things. It means the athlete has to report the niggle, and then you have to have the ability to remove it. Now, the athlete can also be educated to the point where they learn to remove it themselves. And athletes I work with are that well-trained and that smart about their body, they know how to address their niggles.[8] [9]

Get the best guidance possible

My hope is that the level of guidance sought at least matches what is at stake.  In other words, in the case of a elite athlete, let alone a potential GOAT, I would hope no stone has been left un-turned, so to speak.

I have spent too much time with elite athletes who were broken when I met them and chose to stay on their own path to know that this is simply not the case.

I don’t put all the blame on the athlete alone, although unless they are a minor (under 18 years of age) they have to take some responsibility.

I believe that in many cases its their support staff or sports medicine team protecting their own egos that denies the athlete the best outcome.

Here are a few examples:

Case study 1 – The athlete was the reigning Olympic champion in their sport, but injury and poor results had meant they were not on track to even qualify to go to the next Olympics. They were advised by their physical therapist to come and see me and they did. They returned to the next Olympics and were on the podium.

Case study 2 – The athlete was the reigning Olympic champion in their sport but injury had meant they were not on track to even qualify to go to the next Olympics.  They wanted to come and see me but their physical therapist didn’t want them to. They sent them to someone else. They failed to qualify and be selected for the next Olympics, and their career came to an end.

Case study 3 – The athlete had missed selection for the Olympics because of injury. The national team doctor had recommended surgery to solve the problem and they did this. The problem remained. The national team doctor had another solution – retire. The athlete did not take this advice, instead following the recommendation of a team mate to see me. They overcame the injury and went to the next Olympics.

Case study 4 – The athlete has just gone to their third Olympics and at the age most have retired by were performing at their career best. They met a physical coach who encouraged them to change their physical coach. They failed to qualify and be selected for the next Olympics, and their career came to an end.

Case study 5 – The athlete had been selected for their first Olympics but had injured themselves prior to the event and could not attend. They began training for the next Olympics. In this time they met with me and they knew I had helped another athlete podium in their discipline. They did not follow my guidance. They had repeat injury prior to the next Olympics but were given to the 11^th hour to qualify post-surgery, which they did.  They finally got to their Olympics but how many more? And will they ever stand on the podium at the Games?

Case study 6 – The athlete has just become the first person in their country to win a Gold Medal in a certain Olympic event.  However, injury and poor results had meant they were not on track to even qualify to go to the next Olympics. I met with them and I gave them insights into what was going on.  The athlete was furious with the coach for allowing this situation to develop without understanding what was happening. The coach did all they could to prevent the athlete from continuing along the guidance as it was exposing their mistake.  They failed to qualify and be selected for the next Olympics, and their career came to an end.

What are you willing to do get the best answers? Recently I got up a 4am, flew a few hours, drove a few more – to have a 2 hour consult with a person I believe to be the best in their field in the country – and then returned along the same drive / fly travel, arriving home at 10pm that night. And that was for a non-national level (at the moment) athlete.  Being and getting the best is not convenient.

Establish clarity around risk : reward outcomes

There are times in injuries when I recommend you understand the risks and rewards. And there are times you will take the risks and there are times when you will not. But I recommend you be informed and make an informed decision.

The risk reward goes beyond surgery and treatment decisions. It includes return to sport decisions. Unless that athlete is either at the end of their career or the opportunity reward is incredibly high, I do not support return to sport prior to full recovery.

Here’s a challenge for motorbike athletes – you might be limping, but you can still twist the throttle. In other words, you can ride, but should you?

Here are a few examples:

Case study 1- The athlete was selected for their run-on opportunity in their career for their national team. The challenge is they had broken ribs.  We spend some time discussing the risk : reward. If they sit out, the opportunity may never come again. If they play, they could puncture their lungs. They sat out. And the opportunity came again. They had promised to gift me that game journey. I lost out on the jersey, but we gained on the future health and career longevity of the athlete.

Case study 2 – The athlete has, I suspect, been offered an inducement not to play, to damage the team’s success.  I had previously salvaged their career through over-rediing a inaccurate diagnosis and treatment path that was seeing them out of their sport for an extended period. They came to me, and every consultant in the team, to support their decision not to play based on a cited injury. I did not give them guidance either way, as I believed that was their decision to make. They chose to sit out. They got the inducement. The team lost that day.°

Case study 3 – The athlete had a displaced clavicle (collar bone)  at the sternum (chest) end. They had been selected to play for their national team. I took them to meet with a trusted orthopedic surgeon. We discussed the risk reward at length. If they didn’t have surgery they could play tomorrow, but risk puncturing their lungs. If they had surgery, there would be no risk of lung damage, but they would be out of selection for an extended period of time.  There not competing for selection with other genuine competitors. They chose not to have surgery. They did not suffer any lung damage. They played the number of games they were driven to play.

Have a clear time frame

Time frame matters for perception. There is a saying in sociology that revolts are caused when there is a discrepancy between what someone has been told or been lead to belief, and reality. The same frustration can creep into return to sport decisions.

In sport there are diverse approaches to time frame. One physical therapist I worked with would tell everyone a time frame longer than what they know would occur, I suggest embellishing their reputation as a ‘god’.

Many coaches I have worked with would pressure the medical team to shorten the prognosis time frame for return to sport in the interests of the coaches win : loss record.

Predicted time frames aside, consider also the individual situation. Surgery technique advancements have led to short recovery times, but the human doby ultimately will decide, in collaboration with how and what you are doing, when it is ready. This reality needs to be including in the counselling of the athlete from the start.

Ensure optimal rate of rehab

If or when the rehabilitation from injury is going slower than is optimal, frustration and the associated poor decision making can come into the equation.

People just accept slow rehab and then they train at the same time because they’re not going to take two months off or six months off or two years off training. So, it just slows it down again. You know, slow rehab causes a lot of problems…I want to get results really fast. [10]

Fix it. It’s not being fixed fast enough. Rehabs too slow. Rehab across the world is too slow.[11]

To provide clear expectations around this, I teach that if within two weeks you are not confident that the current consultant or strategy used by consultant is going to get you the results you want within the time frame you want, look to change it up. [12]

And what I’ll teach you is that if the issue isn’t resolved within two weeks, you need to go see someone else. Now I’m being a little bit exaggerated, but not too much. If you’re not making pretty significant progress in a two week time period, move on. Either move on to the technique you’re using in treatment, or move on to another therapist. But the therapists that really annoy me are those who create an emotional dependence of the client or the athlete on them. And it does occur. [13]

If someone is going to a therapist, this is my rule to an athlete: if you go to somebody two times and you aren’t confident that you’re on the road to full recovery, change your direction. You’ve got two shots at it. Fix it or merely fix it in two shots or we’ll move on …. [14] [15] [16]

Create a progressive return to sport plan

The benefit of making a theoretical plan in advance is that it can help you mitigate decisions influenced by non-optimal factors such as athlete or stake-holder frustration about any delays in return to sport.

This plan is a projection and can be simple or structural in nature. However, no matter how minimal the plan, an expectation set in relative calmness prior to the moment it is needed is a wise step in this situation.

For example – and only as an example e-  training comes before competition, lower-level competition comes before higher level competition, and race simulation in training comes before lower-level competition.

Have pre-determined milestones for determine when to return to each progressive level of sport

Once you have a progressive plan of activity in the return to sport plan, you will want to have a set of criteria to match that activity.

To be blunt, if you are still limping, you are not ready to be racing at the highest level. Yes, you can do it, but that decision is keeping the athlete in the loop.

Ideally, stay consistent to the plan.

My goal is to get this ankle fully healed up and return as competitive as ever and make the 2026 season as successful as we can.—Jett Lawrence, Dec 2025[17]

Stop with the ‘injuries in sport are normal’ attitude

It’s one thing for low level and amateur athletes to blame their injuries on the sport. [18]

I really believe that there is a philosophy at least in western world sport and in general life that it’s okay to be injured and injuries are normal. Aside from the cost of injury to the community, the cost to the individual is significant and my philosophy is that no, it’s not okay to be injured….[19]

However, to hear it from athletes and stakeholders of athletes who are at or aim to be the elite level, it unacceptable.

I have a different attitude, and it’s a better one that ‘injuries are out of our control’. [20]

It is my belief that the injuries are unnecessary and unacceptable. And I get tired of people saying that that’s just the impact in sport. You know, that’s just the nature of the sport. That’s bullshit. [21] [22] [23]

…too many in the sports circle now accept, embrace and even benefit from this high incidence of injury. [24]

With all due respect, it was tough hearing the number one stake holder default to this attitude:

“It’s just one of those things. A lot of people go through it, they have just a few years of just silly mistakes and that’s all it is with Jett. Like, the knee was just something weird, tabbed his foot and it did his ACL, it was just weird, you know.

“So, this one was the same, it just went over a jump, his foot touched the gear lever, clicked it into neutral and boom, had neutral when he hit the face of the next jump. We have not hit neutral on that motorcycle in four years, but just his foot just touched it and that was it, game over.

Here’s a different viewpoint, one that seeks to bring more variables back into the control of the athlete and their support team:

Traumatic injuries, sometimes called impact injuries, occur suddenly and often when significant forces (gravity or external load/other people’s bodies) are involved.  Because of this, it is easy to explain them away as ‘it just happened as a result of the impact’. I do not agree with this. I believe most impact/traumatic injuries are chronic injuries in disguise and can be avoided or at worst reduced in incidence and severity.

If fifty percent of all injuries were of this traumatic/impact nature (just to use an example), I believe that more appropriate understanding of injury symptoms and cause-effect relationships in training program design could eliminate these  chronic injuries. [25]

Conclusion

Jett’s injuries during the last five seasons are indisputable. That he is in what I refer to as the ‘injury loop’ is conjecture. Based on a bit of practice.

I do not expect the case study here to change direction. However anyone in a similar situation, or wishing to avoid this situation, may benefit from from the lessons provided.

However, no lesson will be taken if the common thinking is maintained. This is a Google AI conclusion to the question ‘which knee did Jett Lawrence injury’.

“Lawrence also sustained an unrelated injury to his right ankle during a pre-season training crash in December 2025).

If you think its unrelated, you have a lot of company, with people who abdicate the opportunity to shape their destiny. If it’s unrelated, he is not an my so-called ‘injury loop’.

On the other hand, if you believe the ankle injury may be related to the knee injury, then you might find value in lessons shared.

 

References

[1] King, I., 2025, Legacy Vol 1 – Injury prevention, Theory #77 – The injury loop

[2] King, I., 2015, The Stop Injuries in Strength Training Video Series, Pt 2 of 10 – Why injuries in strength training occur

[3] King, I., 2018, Zero Tolerance to Injuries Video Series, Pt 2 of 10: Why injuries in strength training occur

[4] King, I., 2015, The Stop Injuries in Strength Training Video Series, Pt 3 of 10: Insights into common strength training injury sites and causes

[5] King, I., 2018, Zero Tolerance to Injuries Series, Pt 3 of 10 -Insights into common strength training  injury sites and causes

[6] King, I., 2015, Injury prevention and rehabilitation (Seminar), Singapore 11 April 2015

[7] King, I., 2025, Legacy Vol 1 – Injury prevention, Theory #75 – Remove the niggle in 24 hours

[8] King, I., 2015, The Stop Injuries in Strength Training Video Series, Pt 3 of 10: Insights into common strength training injury sites and causes

[9] King, I., 2018, Zero Tolerance to Injuries Series, Pt 3 of 10: Insights into common strength training  injury sites and causes

[10] King, I., 2012, Speed seminar, Adelaide, Sun 25 March 2025

[11] King, I., 2012, Speed seminar, Adelaide, Sun 25 March 2025

[12] King, I., 2025, Legacy Vol 1 – Injury prevention, Theory #84 – The two week rehab rule

[13] King, I., 2000, Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation Series (DVD)

[14] King, I., 2015, Strength Training and Injury Prevention. 2015 SWIS Conference 13-14 Nov 2015, Canada

[15] King, I., 2015, The Stop Injuries in Strength Training Video Series, Pt 1 of 10

[16] King, I., 2018, Zero Tolerance to Injuries Video Series, Pt 1 of 10: Introduction into injuries in strength training

[17] https://racerxonline.com/2025/12/20/jett-lawrence-injured-in-training-crash

[18] King, I., 2025, Legacy Vol 1 – Injury prevention, Theory #29 – It’s not okay

[19] King, I., 2000, Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation Series

[20] King, I., 2025, Legacy Vol 1 – Injury prevention, Theory #30 – The sport didn’t cause the injuries

[21] King, I., 2015, Strength Training and Injury Prevention. 2015 SWIS Conference 13-14 Nov 2015, Toronto ONT Canada

[22] King, I., 2015, The Stop Injuries in Strength Training Video Series, Pt 1 of 10 – Introduction to Injuries in Strength Training

[23] King, I., 2018, Zero Tolerance to Injuries Video Series, Pt 1 of 10: Introduction into injuries in strength training

[24] King, I., 2015, Physical train wrecks – it does not have to be this way, 13 Aug 2015

[25] King, I., 2005, The way of the physical preparation coach – Ch 13: Injury prevention and rehabilitation, (Book),

 

Image  “Washougal MX 2021 P1277967” by Ryan Elwell is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.