Jamie's story: ‘My shoulder kept popping out’

For three seasons, Jamie Hume was worried her shoulder would dislocate at any moment.  

The 27-year-old dislocated her left shoulder in a skiing accident in 2019 and over time it became a debilitating injury. 

“It definitely had an impact on how I played and trained,” the goal attack says.  

Jamie and her support team threw everything they could at rehabilitation but, after three seasons and no improvement, they decided surgery was the best option.

“It was frustrating because it was always in the back of my mind,” she says. “I knew there were certain things I wasn’t able to do as well as I could before my injury.” 

Sharon Kearney, Netball NZ lead physiotherapist and NetballSmart consultant, says the movement on court was exposing the instability in Jamie’s shoulder. But deciding on surgery was a tough call.  

“To commit to surgery is a big step – it’s six months out of netball and with pivotal international campaigns looming,” Sharon says. 

“So it’s hard to make that final decision.” 

But Jamie knew it was the best option.  

She was heavily strapped before every game and training. Jumping and contesting for rebounds were the scariest motions.

“I would be contesting for balls with my arms at full extension and when you add an opposition player into the mix it became quite unpredictable. Towards the end, my shoulder was coming out all the time,” she says. 

“I started to notice myself pulling out of contests because I didn’t want my shoulder to come out.” 

She wants to tell her story to help the next generation of netball stars know the importance of rehabilitation. 

'The first feeling was guilt’

Four years ago, Jamie went to the Treble Cone ski fields in Wānaka for a trip with friends. 

She grew up in Clyde in Central Otago and is a competent skier.

She was skiing backwards and showing her friend how to turn, before they both tumbled over.

She put her arm down to stop herself and felt her shoulder come out of the socket.

“The pain was excruciating,” she says.

“It was an awful, sickening feeling. That feeling of something popping out of a joint is so unnatural.” 

As an elite level netballer on the cusp of the Silver Ferns squad, it was a bad moment.

“The first feeling was guilt,” she says.

“We’re always told to be careful with whatever we’re doing if there’s a risk of injury. But it’s also important to be able to enjoy life outside of netball and this seemed like it would be fine. 

“I didn’t realise the extent of the injury to be honest and I didn’t think it would go much past being sore for a couple of days” 

‘There’s no second chance’

When Jamie had surgery, there were exactly six months until the start of the ANZ Premiership national competition to return to fitness.

She had the ongoing support of former Silver Ferns physio Mark Overington, shoulder specialist Margie Olds – who led Jamie’s rehabilitation programme – and Northern Stars physio Sarah Fanuatanu. Surgeon Craig Ball also monitored her progress. 

The NetballSmart ‘Return to Play’ programme supported the other important elements of rehabilitating from an injury – ensuring her entire body was on a return to play programme. 

Jamie fully committed herself. 

“I’m a bit of a psycho when it comes to my rehab to be honest,” she laughs. 

“I’ve been pretty diligent in working through my rehab programmes. I knew this particular shoulder surgery was pretty final when you get it – there’s no second chance if you bugger it up.”

Sharon says six months of Return to Play is the usual outcome for shoulder surgery but the ability to return and play well on court is a different matter. 
While her shoulder was healing, Jamie committed to other elements that helped a successful transition – fitness, lower body strength, core strength, jumping and landing.

“By the time Jamie’s shoulder was ready to hit the court, so was the rest of her body,” Sharon says.

“This is vital for a successful Return to Play.” 

‘My flat mates had to do my hair’

Off the court, life was a challenge.

Jamie spent six weeks in a sling.

She struggled with everyday tasks like getting things out of high cupboards or making her bed. It was three months until she felt life was back to normal.

Jamie would wake up first thing so her flatmates, who work in corporate roles, could do her hair before they went to work.

“It was pretty funny,” she says.

During her rehab, Jamie trained to be a pilates instructor and also got back in the classroom as a primary school teacher at Glenavon School in west Auckland. 

“The kids don’t watch netball so they don’t really know who I am outside of school,” she says. 

“It’s awesome to go there and just be Miss Hume, rather than Jamie Hume the netballer. It definitely keeps me sane.”   

The cost of netball injuries

ACC invests in Netball NZ to help deliver the NetballSmart training programme.

Netball is the most popular sport for females in New Zealand but it’s also a leading cause of injuries.

In 2022, ACC accepted over 21,000 netball-related injuries which cost $34m to help people recover.

ACC injury prevention partner Nat Hardaker says NetballSmart is making a difference. 

“It’s exciting to see the positive impact of the NetballSmart programme supporting players to stay on the court and minimise time lost to injury,” she says.

“The Return to Play programme is a key component in this. We’re keen to grow the reach of NetballSmart and ensure more netball players benefit from the programme, so they can enjoy more time on the court with their team-mates." 

‘Like a kid at Christmas’

Jamie says it’s hard to describe how she felt when she was finally cleared to get back on court. 

“I was like a kid at Christmas in my first training back,” she says.

“I’d been watching for so long, so I was running around trying to do everything at a million miles.”

Jamie and her Northern Stars team-mates are motivated to go one better than their grand final loss to the Central Pulse last year.

It’s a big year for netball with the World Cup in South Africa in July but Jamie isn’t thinking ahead.

“I underestimated how challenging it’s going to be to return to the level I was playing at pre-surgery,” she says.

“So I’m under no illusions it’s going to be an easy ride to get back to where I was, and I definitely have a fair bit to go to compete for a spot on court. But I’m just stoked to be back out there.” 

She offers good advice to young netball players on preventing injury.

“Don’t just use the NetballSmart programme as the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff,” she says.

“It’s a great programme that sets you up to play at all levels. If you make it a habit early on, it will help you hugely in the long run to stay injury free.”