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A 'silent epidemic' for teenage sports injuries
By Madison Park Teenage athletes who play in multiple leagues and participate in sports year-round tend to overuse the same muscles and joints. The overuse could lead to serious injuries such as dislocated shoulders, torn anterior cruciate ligaments and ligaments usually seen more often in adults, said Dr. Thomas DeBerardino, an associate professor of orthopaedics at the University of Connecticut Health Center. DeBerardino will moderate a session at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, this week about adolescent sports injuries. Calling the wave of injuries a “silent epidemic,” he said he sees three major areas of injuries- head, neck and knees. Some young players play on year-round schedules and with several teams. “If you’re on multiple teams, that is detrimental to the overall health of their kids’ shoulders and knees,” he said. “It comes down to being overscheduled. Along with being overscheduled, they’re overexposed and potentially injured. “They never have a break. This increases risk of overuse and the adult-type injuries like stress and ligament injuries.” One example DeBerardino cited is youth baseball. Young pitchers could end up racking high pitch counts in each of their various leagues and increase their risk for elbow and shoulder injuries. His advice to teen athletes is simple: Learn to listen to your body. “Each kid and body is different,” he said. “Everyone has a different thresh point. You get an injury if you’re over-fatigued, you’re doing too much and you don’t have enough of a recovery period. Each parent and person responsible for the kid needs to pay attention. You don’t have to examine the kid. Ask them if they feel overwhelmed, over-challenged. When you need a break, you need a break.” And the reality is not every kid is going to be a Zack Greinke. Editor's Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.
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Frankly, youth sports is enormously overrated as an activity. People even act as if it will magically solve social problems. I'm not even convinced it's all that great for fitness; there are plenty of fitness activities (skiing, running, cycling, weightlifting) that are great for your strength and conditioning, do not involve team sports, and are often kept up for life, unlike team sports participation which tends to morph into "sitting at a sports bar drinking beer and watching sports on TV" as guys get older.
School phys ed programs should focus less on sports and more on individual fitness and nutrition.
I see this happen every year at the ball park in Lexington South Carolina. Kids will play baseball year round with several different organizations and I always end up seeing one or two kids who are recoving the next year from shoulder or elbow surgery. Why would any parent allow their children to play so much. Do you not realize that no matter how good your child is, once the surgery, you can kiss college goodbye and especially any shot they may have at the Major level. I refuse to allow my son's arm to be overused by any coach for any reason. He has bigger plans than recreational ball.
The foundation for all athletics is great fitness where movement is primary and involves minimal specialization and a lot of variation. However, many young athletes are not getting the variable conditioning and strength that used to be a part of every child's experience of growing up. Kids need to be playing more and competing less. Activities like:
Climbing
Swimming
Biking
Skateboarding
Walking
Dancing
are some examples of non-competitive activities that will help kids stay fit and athletic. In addition, overall fitness needs more emphasis in schools particularly Middle School or grades 6-8 where many kids get divided into one of two groups: Active (Team sports) or Not Active (no team sports). 90 minutes of Physical Education, Dance, and/or Open Play should be a part every school day. Cognitive studies have proven that intelligence is enhanced through Play.
For our children to excel in sports we need them to learn how to take care of their bodies and minds at the same time. Encouraging children to play and have fun in non-competitive but challenging ways will go a long way to not only making better athletes but also preventing over-specialization and injuries.
Tomas Anthony
founder
everyday athlete®
http://www.everydayathlete.com
I just wrote on this topic in my blogsite http://www.danielsfitnesstraining.com to get to my younger athletes. you are correct not enough rest recuperation. everyone thinks more is better can severly harm young athletes. most of them can be much better with proper nutrition/ rest / recuperation. great article also please school coaches get rid of the bench press s the test of upper body strength. too much focus on this causes incredible overcompensation in rotator cuff muscles etc. plus it does not transfer to sports like a full body overhead press.....
I played professional baseball in the '60's and ended up being the president of a little league in Tucson, Az when my son was 12 yrs old. Because I felt very strongly about kids hurting their arms, I made it a rule that no pitchers would be allowed to throw a "curve ball". I believe this is the major probelm with injuries even for those who don't pitch. Kids put a strain on their arms just playing catch because they think it cool to throw curve balls.
An example would be that one of the best players couldn't make the freshmen baseball team because his arm was hurt so bad while pitching in Little League and the next league prior to high school.
One other factor that was not mentioned that adds to the number of arm problems for young pitchers is that coaches are teaching over hand curve balls to kids too early. There is no way that an eleven year old should be subjecting his developing tendons and tissue to the stress that is caused by that pitch. The muscles used to throw that "big league curve" develop faster than the growing tendons and can often cause a lot of damage. Kids shouldn't be throwing pitches that require snapping the wrist (over hand curves, sliders, screw balls, etc) until they are closer to maturity – use puberty as a general guideline; are they getting close to having to shave? is their voice changing? That shows that their body is making the move to the next level and they stand a better chance of not having tendon damage.
Frankly, your an idiot and probably no good at sports which is why you feel this way.
Team sports build social skills, leadership characteristics, working as a group to achieve goals, as well as overall exercise. I do agree with the article that constant use of year round seasons do lead to more serious injuries earlier than expected. Sports should be played season by season.
BTW, physical education classes already teach nutrition and overall fitness, that is nothing new.
Wow, it really took this big study to determine overuse could result in injury, no kidding. Btw, team sports are a great way for kids to become socialized rather than keeping them isolated in their own boring regime of exercising alone. Besides, Id rather see kids getting injured from playing sports year round than get diagnosed for being fat and lazy like their parents. Its called 'moderatiion".
Gotta agree with Michael on this. Team sports are great when the kids are really young and the goal is fun. When it turns into the middle-aged jock who relives his glory days through his son's team and his little clique of local superstars, then it gets bad. Usually what starts out as a good thing ends up making some kids feel worse because they aren't the best athletes and can't even play anywhere but right field when it's 13-1 in the 9th inning. The money and time some of these kids and their families spend trying to win the tournament 8 hours away is ridiculous.
Parents should take Dr. Thomas DeBerardino's advise seriously. I was a Little League coach here in So Cal for years, and when it became apparent that my son's skills were beyond my coaching knowledge, we moved into travel ball. In the states with year long playing seasons (especially Florida, Texas & California) tournament baseball is huge. We had two practices a week with tournaments every weekend all over So Cal. If we went all the way to the finals we might play 6-7 games in a weekend. Once we played 4 games in one day. We did this non stop for almost three years, and on multiple teams at times. I know. It's a lot.
Now I don't feel like we were pushing my son too hard. He enjoyed every moment and learned invaluable skills across a spectrum of disciplines. But right around 12 years old he began having knee troubles. It turned out to be Osgood-Schlatters disease (look it up), not uncommon, but aggravated by excessive athletic activity. Of course, we've stopped playing for a while until it heals.
Every kid is different, and some do this without problems. All I'm saying is that parents should monitor their kids very closely and deal with problems immediately. If your involved enough to play at this level, you should be involved enough to catch any health issues.
As for a comment posted previously, Michael Wong's comment is very narrow, short sighted, misinformed and just plain wrong. His thoughts about people's motivations sound like pure speculation coming from someone with no basis for comparison (i.e no kids; just a guess). Aside from the obvious health benefits, team sports teach discipline & teamwork, as well as creating a focus for energies that might find their way into other problematic activities such as gangs. I was a baseball coach in Northeast Los Angeles for years. Some of the kids had no other father figure in their lives, and I was happy to fill that void. Besides, even those who participate in individual athletic activities, with few exceptions, still do so as part of a team. Team sports absolutely go a long way toward solving potential social problems. If you want proof check out an inner-city Little League.
Michael Wong:
> School phys ed programs should focus less on sports and more on individual fitness and nutrition.
While I agree with teaching more nutrition and fitness in school, I remember my interests as a student: Give us a ball and let us play (basketball, soccer, volleyball, you name it). The teacher should form the exercise so that everyone is moving and not standing around most of the time, e.g. letting play volleyball with smaller fields and fewer players, if possible.
> skiing, running, cycling, weightlifting
Running is easily done, you need good shows that's all, but the other activities need equipment and a capital plan, and schools can' often afford it.
I played volleyball 9 months out of the year for 3 years straight and in those three years I tore almost ever ligament in one of my ankles, dislocated my hip, developed wrist problems and tore my ACL. Did those things hurt? Oh definitely yes. Did I have an absolute blast playing? You bet. I still have issues with my knee from time to time (I call it my built-in barometer because it aches when the weather changes) but I wouldn't go back and change those three years of my life. I had so much fun, developed many friendships, and learned how to be a team player. The reason that so many kids today are obese is parents are too scared to let them go out and play. The world is a scary place and you can get hurt but I'd rather see my kid happy than fat and miserable. I started playing sports when I was 10 and I wouldn't have had it any other way.
Individual sports often result in a higher rate of injury. Swimming, running, cycling and gymnastics are sports that require hours of training per week that overuse the same muscles and tendons. Opting for individual "activities" such as these sports are not an alternative to team sports and may be more likely to result in injury.
It's all about winning. It's not about participating, fitness, life skills or teamwork.
I remember little league being a summer sports program for kids. But, each year the season got shorter to make room for a longer "all star" playoffs. By the 4th of July, either you were an all star, or a spectator. Those who needed the exercise most sat on the sidelines; while coaches concentrated on the athletic kids. At 8 years old, they let you know you weren't worth the effort. Then they wondered why your rather sit at home and watch TV.
Athletics is far down on the list. Championships, stats, steroids, multi-million dollar contracts, endorsements and a cult of personality are on top.
I've seen a couple comments by and about Little League, so I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents. I'm not in any way a representative of LL International, so any comments are mine and mine alone.
Little League is not a baseball program. It is a 'citizenship' program that uses baseball as it's vehicle. It reinforces the concepts of teamwork, sportsmanship, hard work, volunteering and confidence in oneself. Notice the word 'reinforces'. It is the parents responsibility to instill these values, not the programs.
Most of the problems within youth sports programs aren't from the organization itself, or the sport itself. They stem from the parents, either trying to relive their glory days or pushing the child too hard to be perfect. This is true in just about every youth program I've ever been involved with, including some non-sports programs. Ever hear of the Suzuki Method for violinists – starting children to play violin at age 2?
It's the responsibility of all adults involved in these programs to ensure that everyone is kept safe, and isn't pushed beyond his/her limits, physical or otherwise. Ultimately it's up to the parents.
Let the kids play, and remember it's about them – not you.
Concussions and management of a student's return-to-play is critical to ongoing success in school. Concussions occur in youth sports frequently. Parents often wrongly believe their children are "fine" on the basis of X-rays, C-T scans, and physician examination. But really, the brain requires rest and time to heal and return to it's baseline level of functioning or homeostasis. returning to the playing field too soon puts a student athlete at risk for longer term cognitve and emotional deficits. School accommodations are sometimes needed for students who return to school while still experiencing the effects of concussion.
I was a kid in the '60's and loved baseball and was a "star" pitcher but little league was the worst experience of my life. It shows how you can take a basically good thing and love it to death. I hated baseball after that, the extreme pressure to perform perfectly every game (at 10 years old??), hostile parents, zealous coaches, winning at all cost, the pomp and silliness. Maybe its different now, but it was really dumb.
Let's be specific and constructive here:
- Jody – "Individual sports often result in a higher rate of injury."
While this is true for children who specialize in those sports exclusively, this is not the case when kids stick to a variable schedule.
In adults, we call this cross training. In childhood we call this: Play. One day the playground, next day swim class, next day basketball with friends, next day soccer, playground, etc. You are correct: Too much structure is too much stress: Literally. The fact is most kids are way to specialized to early. Fun, variability, gross motor skill development should be the primary objectives.
- Tod – "Besides, Id rather see kids getting injured from playing sports year round than get diagnosed for being fat and lazy like their parents. Its called 'moderatiion".
This is exactly the problem. You have two extremes going on right now. Kids are suffering from overuse injuries that are serious and damaging with potentially life long consequences that could end up turning them into the coach potatoes of tomorrow.
A more intelligent way exists but it means that parents and our educational and recreational institutions need to program kids fitness and sports better.
– More resources and emphasis needs to be given to programs that get kids moving like innovative P.E. and sports fitness programs.
- Youth athletic organizations should hire "sports conditioning coaches" and require young athletes to rest and not focus so much on winning championships.
There are a lot of great trainers out there who have a lot of knowledge and would happily help youth and kids programs build better ways for our kids to enjoy movement. There's a place for competition but I feel as others have expressed here, there's way too much emphasis on winning coming primarily from misguided and misinformed parents and amateur coaches.
Tomas Anthony
founder
everyday athlete®
http://www.everydayathlete.com
Fitness is not even close to being part of the "select" baseball program. Too often, the coaches have no knowledge of exercise science, biomechanics, sports medicine, etc. They are middle-aged men trying to live through their children. It is all about the trophy for them rather than total athlete development. I personally do not allow my son to participate in any one sport year round. He is right in the middle of his highest growth velocity period and I am not about to put his health or future sport participation in the hands of someone who is only concered about a trophy.
In regards to those speaking of physical education programs in schools, more of an effort needs to be made to show that those children who are physicall fit (not super athletes) do actually perform better in school. School physical education programs are being left behind in favor of the all mighty "test". At present, we are turning out kids with no knowledge of lifelong fitness habits who have been taught to pass a "test" and cannot think for themselves. We can thank our government for that one.
Team sports are great ... when they are correctly approached.
The good:
staying active
competition (within reason)
teamwork
The bad:
The coaches who take it too far, overwork kids, and who replace the "friendly" part of competition and replace it with "stressfully intense."
The parents who live through their kids, rather than just letting their kids live for themselves. And the unneeded pressure that is placed on kids.
I don't doubt Dr. DeBerardino, an orthopedic surgeon, knows a thing or two about sport related injuries, but I do have to question his referring to an ACL tear (anterior cruciate ligament tear) as an overuse injury. It is actually, and acute injury, with overuse having nothing to do with it.
Let's talk baseball. Little League Baseball has specific rules about pitch counts to limit overuse in young throwers. Limits on pitches per game, pitches per year, specific rest times, and rules on changing positions within the game (example not allowing a pitcher to move to the catchers position after pitching). The rules are there, parents and coaches need to make sure that young throwers on multiple teams are staying within the pitching guidelines. These guidelines were instituted after a landmark study out of AMSI (American Sports Medicine Intsitute) in Birmingham, Alabama who's primary surgeon is Dr. James Andrews, the foremost authority on overuse injuries in young throwers.
Overuse injuries, I agree, are becoming more of an issue in sports, particularly in our younger athletes. There is great research out there about preventative measures and the data has been put into place by leading organizations like Little League Baseball. Parents and coaches need to know the rules, and realize that not every kid will play at the next level.
I spent my middle school and high school years skateboarding and snowboarding, every day all year. Did I get hurt? Gods yes, and my health insurer probably hated me. Do I regret it? Not at all, much like previous posters have stated. In fact, I think I was better prepared for the rest of my life by these "individual sports" than many of my friends who focused on team sports.
Individual activities like skateboarding and snowboarding are all about competing with yourself, challenging yourself. You don't (generally) get the "easy" ego boost of beating someone else; instead you learn to value improvement for its own sake. And I find that you have a better relationship with the people you skate and snowboard with: everyone learns and improves together.
A good time on the hill or in the skate park goes like this (when things go right, at least): everyone tries to improve, and everyone encourages everyone else. When I do something new to me, hard for me, others give a shout out, even when what I've done isn't challenging to them. I found this to be quite different than when I played team sports, when individual players' mistakes were thrown in their faces when the game was lost, and when the opposing team was more or less "faceless"; people we didn't know, and didn't care about.
So, get hurt, have fun.
I direct response to Michael Wong. As a university educated Kinesiologist I have to disagree with you. Obesity is at an all time high and is still climbing fast. It wont be long until most children will be unable to participate in any form of physical activity, be in a team sport or not (the only sprorts they will enjoy will be on XBOX or Playstation). I truly believe that no form of physical activity should ever be discouraged. Remeber the days when kids went a outside and just ran around? Yes, repetitive strain injuries due to overused muscle, ligaments, etc... can and do happen however with proper coaching and knowledge a year round schedule is not something to be viewed as dangerous.
I have three children (2 boys and a girl) all play sports, and are pretty good athletes – but it's not our life (we don't do out-of-state travel teams). They always played different sports in different seasons: baseball/softball in spring, flag football/vollyeball in the fall, swim team in the winter (I think swimming could be the best sport...low injury rate and it uses all the muscles), mixing the sports up a bit and not playing the same sport all year long, minimizes the injury risk.
It's true that sports teams are great for developing childrens social skills, however....come on parents...don't overuse your kids bodies. If you're child has a sports related injury (dislocated shoulders, torn anterior cruciate ligaments), then he/she is being pushed too hard. Mix it up, let them skip a practice and go to a movie....let them be kids....everything should be done in moderation.
Oh yes....make sure they hit the books too (chances are they are not becoming professional athletes!)
It's interesting you didn't mention football. I don't think any kid should play football. I never have. It's not entertaining to watch kids hurt themselves for our entertainment. The whole idea is ludicris.
As a person who grew up playing sports for 12 months out of the year, I believe it honestly depends on the kid. I am someone who didn't have a lot of injuries and rarely got tired. You would think I was superwoman, but I am not. Everyone's bodies cope with stress and fatigue differently. I believe that participating in leagues and sports 12 months out of the year isn't necessarily negative or the main cause of these injuries. Don't health advocates, coaches,nutritionists and fitness instructors embed in your mind that it is all about a balance. A balance and not over use something will create a healthy lifestyle. Obviously if someone uses their right arm 100 times during a practice, 12 months out of the year, they are more prone to injury in that right arm/shoulder. If someone drinks alcohol for 12 months out of the year, they will be prone to liver failure/disease. Its a simple fact; balance what you do. I played soccer in the summer and fall, ran track in the winter and spring and swam in the winter and summer. It was a balance of different muscles and movements. Soccer and track, although both contain a lot of running, do not really use the same muscles. If I only played soccer for 12 months out of the year, for 7 days each week, I would be prone to injury for overuse. I mean, come on, be smart. I am not saying that everyone doesn't need a break now and again, but when you are fatigued, when you think you can't do anymore, that is when you get better.
The issues that the article describes aren't uncommon thoughts, but you don't have to be a CEO or a 4.0 student to realize what you have to do to prevent it. If you are enjoying what you are doing in the moment, everything in the future will work itself out. If I wasn't able to run for the rest of my life due to an injury from when I was little, I would at least know that I thoroughly enjoyed it while I did it and I wouldn't change that for anything.
@mr Wong, "Youth sports are overatted as activity"....geez man....did you not get picked for a team or something
haha the "silent epidemic" is the exact opposite of what this joker is saying. It's not enough kids play sports year round.
If this guy had his way, everyone would live in bubbles and if kids did play sports every game would end in a tie... we don't want hurt feelings either!!!
This has been going on since children have been playing sports. Calling it a silent epidemic is silly.
Bottom line, PARENTS are responsible for the health of their children. It is up to parents to stand up to "win-at-all-cost" coaches and their own determined to win children and say enough is enough.
We don't need any warning lables or regulations, just parents stepping up to do what is their responsibility.
Interesting comment by Seth. 'WE" played nonstop for three years. Note the word WE. Proves the point that he was living vicariously through his son. I've seen it over and over again.
Both our kids played travel sports and we started to get sucked into the mentality encourgaed by coaches they had to be playing all year long with no break. Our son got so tired of playing soccer that he just stopped in his Senior year of high school. That's right...stopped. He was tired, burned out and just didn't want to keep going year round any longer. He was offered college scholarship to play soccer but decided that he didn't want to play at that level anymore.
We were ok with his decision because ultimately it's his life. Looking back, we're sorry that we were allowed by the sports-obsessed culture we have in this country to encourage him to keep going year round. We thought it was what he wanted, but really what he wanted was to make us happy.
Yes, sports do have a function and help some kids stay off the streets and out of trouble. That's great. What isn't great is this hyper-obsessed need to never take a break. It's just not good for anyone, especially growing bodies to never take a break. It's plain common sense.
@Kim
While it's true that some people do live vicariously through their kids (I've coached several with such parents) I do not. That was clearly stated in my comment, but apparently you were not paying attention. I am intimately involved in my child's development, something I take very seriously. Unlike you, apparently according to what you said, I periodically asked my son if he wanted to continue at the level we were at. He was never doing it "just to make me happy", and we stopped when the time was right, not when he was already "tired, burned out and just didn't want to keep going". The word "we" doesn't mean anything. I simply means that "we" played together. Myself as coach and he as player. That's what parenting is about. Guidance.
Some have correctly stated here that parents need to be more involved and aware and react accordingly to their kids needs. Advice, it seems you could have used when you were pushing you kid to exhaustion. Don't blame coaches because you got sucked in.
But I digress. I thought this discussion was about childhood sports injury, not parenting tactics. Funny how some people can turn a serious discussion into a personal attack.
I have played sports my whole life, I started at the age of 6 and continued all the way to college. I played on multiple teams and ranged in very different sports including basketball, baseball, track and field and volleyball. Injuries are constituted from not having the right training. I hit the weights when I was 13 and was instrumented a training regimen all the way through college and never had any issues. I believe this report as well as others are valid, but please don't take your children out of sports. My parents never made me do anything I didn't want to. As a child, exposure is key to social skills, coordination, communication, and learn things about leadership, and teamwork which is not taught in the classroom or on the Wii!!! I wish parents and individuals who aren't athletes and never in their life participated in sports would stop making accusations as to what the child experiences. The funny thing about children is that they tell you what they can and cannot handle.. people just don't listen.
I agree with the statement regarding the ACL injuries. Tearing an ACL requires a tremendous amount of force. To state that the ACL injury is a result of "overuse" is absurd. While little league does have pitch counts, it is not uncommon in my area of the country (Texas) for a kid to play both little league and select baseball. This creates an issue in and of itself for the little league coach. I have coached little league baseball and had parents come up to me stating how many pitches their son should throw that day because he had to pitch later in the day or in a tournament. I too have asked my son repeatedly if he wanted to continue playing. To date, he does. But, if ever he wants out, he is out. Kids do burn out. One young man I coaches was absolutely miserable playing baseball but said he had to because his dad made him. I truly felt sorry for the kid. He was an incredible athlete with a huge amount of potential, but the parent ruined him.
As a Massage Therapist I see a number of Student injuries. Coaches need to be trained in stretching routines pre and post work out or game. NONE of the Swimmers, Basketball and track Kids I see have a true stretch program. I get that the coaches really only care about performance, If they would think for just a minute it might occur to them that this WOULD help performance. Look into Bob Anderson's Stretching Book, It is the Bomb
Many sports are just fine, and are beneficial. In baseball, pitchers are really the only position that poses a significant risk (my son is a pitcher, luckily with coaches who are, if anything, overprotective of his arm). Sports like football and hockey are the worst offenders due to the brain damage that occurs almost universally (been in the news a lot lately). Basically, parents and coaches push too hard. Let the kids PLAY the games by not taking it too seriously, but also protect their young bodies and brains.
Overuse injuries are one thing, but I'd like to hear Dr. DeBerardino address the wisdom of football as a pediatric sport. Are concussions something that is okay for 13 year-olds as long as the concussions are "managed and monitored"? Is there a safe way to have kids deliberately run into each other at full speed? Can a child understand that the school football waiver form signed by his parent signs him up for very real and significant risks to his future health?
Which silent epidemic is the good doctor willing to talk about – the one that sounds like he cares or the one that really matters?
I think as a child sports is so important to build character but you do need to be conscious about injuries. I played sports as a child till I slid into a base and caught my ankle the wrong way which caused me to tear two ligaments. Over the past seven years I have continued to roll the ankle because of it instability and in December finally had ankle reconstruction surgery to repair two ligaments, two tendons, and remove bone chips that have amassed over the years since the initial injury. It is important to remember our body has limits and when you push those limits to far then injuries occur and can have life long effects. BUT I do believe that sports should be a part of kids lives but not everyday all year because kids need time to allow their bodies to heal from the small aches and pains so we don't end up seeing the big ones.
I am a dancer so I know all about these injuries that have happened and will happen. I am also only 14 and I am very erious about this craft. I practice for 4 hours every day and on saturdays, 7. I do over use My muscles and I am already starting to see things like chronic injuries that I know will ahunt me through the reat of life. But I am also learning how to avoid these from my teachers and they are really helping me too, so this article was very important to me.
I was a three sport letterman in my Junior high years and Senior high. By the time I was Junior in High School, I had two major knee surgerys and many torn ankle injurys. All my cartilage in both knees was removed except for a very small amount. My ligaments was torn and tendons. I'm in my mid fifties now and at the age of 52 I had my first total knee joint replacement, and will need one soon for the other knee. I loved sports, sports is great......but the price can be high.
As a massage therapist, I see so many sports injuries, especially in young athletes. Kids don’t have time to let their bodies heal properly after an injury, and in many cases they are forced to perform with one. Athletes, coaches, and parents need to understand that these injuries, if not taken care of properly, are going to affect the future of their athletic career.
http://www.atouchofhealth4u.com
I played baseball during the summer, football during the fall, and ice hockey during the winter and spring. By the time I was 17, my knees were shot, and a good chance to play college hockey was out the window. Overuse isn't as a big a problem as the "tough it out" mentality that exists in HS football and hockey. Even after tearing my ACL during my senior year playing football, I was shunned by the coaches, who wanted nothing to do with me, with one even saying that I was "wussing out" despite the fact I was diagnosed with an ACL injury and getting surgery within the next couple months.
Some of these coaches really don't care about the long-term health or prospects of these kids, and overuse them and push them to perform despite the pleadings from their bodies telling them that something is wrong. Team sports, as a concept, aren't the problem, but the prolific stupidity of many coaches is definitely a problem.
I recently went back to gymnastics in my 40s. It's great exercise and a lot of fun. I didn't realize how much I truly missed it. Granted, every inch of my body hurts when I'm not tumbling, but when I am, I'm on cloud nine. I am much harder on my body than I am with the kids I coach. We always do some sort of warm up activity and then stretch. ALWAYS. The hardest part is getting them to actually do it.
I agree about the ACL. It's not an injury that happens over time. As for shoulders, I have had problems with my shoulders for years. It's a condition that many gymnasts, baseball players, and swimmers have called multi-directional instability. It is up for debate whether the condition is caused by the sport or that people are good at the sport because of the condition, but it is something that can be treated with physical therapy. I work on it with resistance bands so I can keep doing the sport I love.
I think team sports are very beneficial for kids. The lessons they learn about cooperation, team work, goal setting and handling adversity are very important.
That said, youth sports tend to be more about the parents than the kids. Parents want their kids to be winners at all cost and I think it takes away from the intangibles organized sports can provide.
I agree with Tomas in the fact that kids should “play” more without parents their to get in the way.
Participating in one sport year round is detrimental to their health (as shown in the article), and their development. Kids are need varying stimuli to develop properly. This comes from playing various sports (team and individual), as well as made up games on the playground with friends. I think Athletemywholelife comment is a good example of this.
Kids should be encouraged to participate in many activities growing up. It will give them many "tools" for staying active as they age.
This is a great article and I really appreciate the comments on the site. To make a long story short, it is all about common sense. If your arm is in pain, you shouldn't throw. It needs rest. If the pain doesn't subside with rest, get it checked out by a trained specialist.
As a long-time youth baseball coach, I am really glad I am starting to see posts and blogs about baseball throwing injuries. The guidelines given above are very good and are, basically, common sense. The problem is that, for some coaches, common sense takes a sideline view when it comes to winning or losing.
If a child's arm is sore, he shouldn't throw. Give it time to heal. Be careful with throwing too many pitches for a youth baseball pitchers.
Thanks again for this article. Let's get this word out there to all the coaches and parents.
For more information on youth baseball, please check my site out at: http://www.my-youth-baseball.com
wow! everyone wants to bitch about America being fat yet were also gonna bitch about excercize? Let kids be kids I've played baseball football and basketball since i could pick up a ball. Everyone i know is the same way. And our coaches have always pushed us past the limit to get better. Tell a cyclist to come put on a football uniform and see how long he lasts and well see how it compares to a real sport
The growth of this issue is so rapid and many young athletes are being scared for life do to pure fatigue. Based on the number of emails it's apparent that the Certified Strength Coaches, Trainers, PT and the medical community fully understand the problem. The problem becomes the brain washing that goes on between some coaches, players and parents who advise them that the only way to get a college scholarship is to play in multiple leagues throughout the year to refine and further develop the skill level. Recently, I heard a Surgeon from the Boston area who indicated that last year he did in excess of 250 ACL repairs. Of those, about 200 were to high school age women who played soccer on a year round basis. The doctor went on to say that statistics indicates that over 30% of those will have a a second repair and by the age of 45 to 50 will be in for knee replacement. Having talked to a number of college coaches many scout the club circuit for one reason only, they see a very large number of teams and individuals at one time. Most still relie on the high school coaches inputs and game films. I am both a cerified Strength Coach through several organizations and have in the past coached Football, Basketball, Wrestling, Track and currently coach Girls Lacrosse at the High School Level. Recently, I have advise a number of players and parents that I would prefer they go to a variety of sports camps provided by college level coaches and play one or two different sports with strength training to supplement the different training routine to become a more well balanced individual.
Youth sports are not necessarily the enemy. The enemy is the amount of specialization that we are seeing at the youth level.
Individual sports and team sports are great, but parents and even youth coaches need to encourage young athletes to be involved in multiple sports year round - soccer, basketball and baseball for example....
We have lost the 3 sport athlete along the way because every kid (or parent) wants the big college scholarship or to make it to the pros.
I have worked as an athletic trainer with collegiate athletes for 13 years and we continue to see injuries in our incoming freshman that typically did not occur in that age group. These were injuries typically only seen in the professional ranks... High school athletes or middle school athletes should not have already had a Tommy John procedure..........
Clearly all of you who feel youth team sports are overrated and harmful were the kids who were never good enough to play team sports. How many of our leaders were athletes in their youth? Obama seems to enjoy basketball alot, Al Gore played college football and the list goes on. The interaction and competition the kids are exposed to in these sports help their development in enormous ways.
To Vern from Oregon. The research does not support stretching as a measure to increase performance. In fact, true static stretching can be detrimental to performance. Dynamic warmup is an even better method for preparing an individual for activity.
My son is a pitcher on his high school's JV team. I've been involved with youth baseball since he was 4. I can tell you from personal experience that baseball is lot like life in a microcosm. If you are part of it long enough you will see it all, the good, the bad and ugly. Making a sweeping generalization like Mr. Wong did is just plain wrong. For a few kids, sports can become a nightmare, especially if parents’ reactions are not realistic and not nuanced enough. For most kids it is a fun diversion, some exercise, and chance to learn social skills and make friends. For my son it has become a source of his inner strength. He has taken to heart the lesson that hard work and focus over time can produce real, quantifiable results that adults and other kids recognize and even respect. He has zero interest in drugs, or even alcohol, and instead lifts weights, does other exercises and tries to eat well instead. He is very lucky that his body will allow him to succeed in baseball (at least in high school), but it is the one area of his life where he has the opportunity to perform under real pressure and earn the respect of others through hard work and innate ability. Self confidence and a measure of self esteem that are earned are very precious commodities. I strongly believe that anybody who would try to take that away from him is wrong.