Illustrations: David Despau. Images: Luc Claessen/Getty Images.
Sometimes you really have to advocate for your own body. As sportspeople and athletes we are trained to be acutely aware of niggles that can turn into injuries, sniffles that turn into a full on head cold and hormonal or nutritional imbalances that can grind you down. But we are often also prone to suppressing the issues in order to keep pushing and to keep competing, especially after investing so much time and energy into being in shape. However, there are times we have to stand up for ourselves and make a bit of noise when something less obvious is not sitting right.