While some view September as the end of summer, others view it as a beginning… of a new school year and return to school sports! Being involved in athletic activities can help maintain physical health as well as promote teamwork and hone time management skills. Unfortunately, more than 3.5 million child and adolescent sports-related injuries are treated every year in the U.S.

 

Young athletes differ from their adult counterparts. Their growth plates, or areas of cartilage from which the bones grow, still are “open,” or facilitating growth; these growth plates are susceptible to injury. Bones are not as strong as ligaments in these athletes, so an injury that would tear a ligament in an adult might cause a fracture in someone who still is growing. In addition, “overuse injuries” in growing athletes differ from those in adults.

 

Some key points to teach the young athlete in your life:

 

1. Listen to your body. Some “aches and pains” with increased activity are normal, but persistent or acutely painful symptoms or visible deformity should be evaluated by an orthopaedic surgeon. “Working through the pain” can cause significant—and in some cases—permanent injury.

2. Be smart about playing. All participants should be properly conditioned to play, know (and follow) the rules of the sport, know how to use equipment properly, wear appropriate protective gear, warm up before exercise, and refrain from playing when tired or in pain.

 

3. Know who your coaches are. Make sure the coaches are qualified, provide appropriate safety equipment, and are helpful in developing a conditioning program for the players.

 

4. Don’t touch steroids. Yes, they can increase muscle mass. They also can cause serious—even life-threatening—complications. It’s not worth it.

5. Winning is great, but it really isn’t everything. Come on, even Tom Brady and his team lost the Superbowl, but that doesn’t make him a bad quarterback or the Patriots a bad team, does it? There are a lot of reasons why we win or lose on any particular day; if you enjoy the game either way, you will always end on a high note!

 

Even when one plays safely, injuries can and do occur. Treatment depends upon the nature of the injury and age of the child. Basic sports-injury treatment is “RICE,” or Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. A physician might recommend further treatment, including modification of activities, immobilization, therapy, or even surgery. Keeping the communication line open between the young athlete, parents, physicians, therapists, coaches, and trainers will help ensure a speedy recovery and return to sport… in which case, everyone wins!

 

 

Dr. Rachel Rohde is an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in treatment of musculoskeletal conditions of the upper extremities including the shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand. A native of Michigan, she completed her training at Harvard Medical School, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. She has published and presented her research at national and international conferences and recently authored a text, Acute Management of Hand Injuries. She is on staff at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak and is a partner in the Michigan Orthopaedic Institute.