Overuse injuries – found most often in low-contact sports
that involve long training sessions or where the same movement is repeated
numerous times – make up nearly 30 percent of all injuries sustained by
collegiate athletes.
And a majority of overuse injuries (62 percent) occurred in
female athletes, according to a new study published in the current edition of
the Journal of Athletic Training, the National Athletic Trainers' Association
scientific publication.
"Overuse injuries may present not only physical
challenges but also psychological ones that could significantly affect an
athlete's recovery and performance," said study co-author Tracey Covassin,
a certified athletic trainer at Michigan State University and a member of the
Department of Kinesiology.
"Understanding the frequency, rate and severity of
overuse injuries is an important first step for designing effective
injury-prevention programs, intervention strategies and treatment protocols to
prevent and rehabilitate athletes with these types of injuries."
According to the study, overuse injuries tend to occur
gradually and are caused by repeated small injuries, without a single,
identifiable event responsible for the injury, in sports such as long-distance
running, baseball/softball pitching and swimming. By comparison, injuries
occurring in high-speed and full-body-contact sports are more likely to be
acute injuries, which result from a specific and identifiable event.
The study sample consisted of 573 male and female collegiate
athletes from an NCAA Division I institution participating in 16 team sports.
Participants reported 1,317 injuries during a three-year period. Of those
injuries, 386 (29.3 percent) were overuse injuries and 931 (70.7 percent) were
acute. A total of 319 male athletes sustained 705 injuries, and 254 female
athletes sustained 612 injuries.
The most common overuse injuries were general stress (27
percent), inflammation (21 percent) and tendinitis (16 percent).
The long-term consequences of overuse injuries include loss
of playing time, reduced function and psychological exhaustion. Overuse
injuries also are associated with a gradual increase in symptoms, which means
athletes may go undiagnosed and untreated for longer periods of time leading to
long-term residual symptoms and chronic health consequences, including
deformities and arthritis.
Wrestling, football, women's soccer and other contact sports
were associated with a higher acute injury risk; while overuse injuries were
found more frequently in baseball, softball, volleyball, cross country, track
and field and other low-contact sports.
[1]
"Better strategies for the prevention and early
intervention of overuse injuries in all sports and for both sexes are
imperative in order to reduce their number and severity," Covassin said.
If you have a child that plays sports you are likely
familiar with the rather routine in and out style sport physical that is often
a prerequisite for participation.
Is any valuable information actually attained with these physicals? The
more relevant question we should consider is how much do these routine
physicals miss or ignore that could be critical to keeping children injury
free?
“The sports physical required by schools and sports leagues
just skims the surface and doesn’t dive deep enough into the real issues that
impact teen’s health,” said Jerold Stirling, MD, pediatrician at Loyola
University Health System and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Loyola
University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.
“Many parents see the sports physical done in a school gym
or quick clinic as the only medical attention their child needs when this isn’t
the case,” said Stirling. “There are many issues that can’t be detected in a
simple physical. In fact, many young athletes don’t get the care they need.
It’s just assumed that they are healthy because all the boxes on the sports
physical have been checked off, and that can be dangerous.”
“If parents wait too long if we do find a problem, we won’t
have time to address it. By bringing a young athlete in early enough before the
season begins, if we do find something, we can work on treatments and therapies
to resolve the issue so the child won’t miss any time of the field,” said
Stirling. [2]
Dr. Stirling is referring mostly to deeper issues that
impact a child’s health from a mental, social and emotional level. While these topics are of the utmost
importance to a child ‘s overall well being they are not the type of issues you
would normally address during a sport physical. And while the sport physical may be an effective vehicle to
more effectively reach out to children Dr. Stirling suggests a more prudent
approach would be a scheduled check up with the pediatrician or primary care
physician.
“As children grow into their teen years, social and mental
health needs to be addressed in a safe, private environment. Teens need to know
they can bring their questions and concerns to someone who cares and will keep
it confidential,” said Stirling. “No one knows your young athlete like his or
her primary care doctor. That relationship can open a door for teens to feel
comfortable asking questions about their health and overall well-being.”
Clearly the express
sport physical is inadequate to screen for the issues a pediatrician is most
concerned with and I believe they are just as inadequate in determining a
child’s physical preparation.
During the physical is posture assessed? Do they have the child remove their shoes to examine their
feet (flat feet, big red flag for injury potential)? Muscle imbalances (from sport specialization) or motor
control problems (can they skip)?
The answer to all of these questions is no and along with the concerns
of Dr. Stiriling should lead to the retirement of the old model of sport
physical replacing it with a model that considers the current youth sporting
culture.
I have been coaching children for 14 years and times are
different now compared to when I first started. There is less general physical preparation in favor of more
skill practice and game play.
Children are less physically prepared to meet the demands of sport
because their base of overall athleticism is so narrow. I have witnessed children that don’t
know how to fall for example. That
might sound crazy but kids don’t experience free play when they used to roll
down hills or dive into a pond.
Instead they take pitching or goalie lessons. They never experience falling and how to manage that and
keep themselves safe. I coach
children that don’t know how to fall or roll to the ground. If you think rolling or diving isn’t a
fundamental athletic skill watch a baseball, football or soccer game. When kids fall now it makes an awful
thud sound and that’s how kids get hurt.
That is only one example, and there are many more (skipping anyone), of
a simple and fundamental skill that should be learned through child like
experimentation but that window was closed while hitting ground stroke after
ground stroke.
In my opinion the best form of injury prevention is
long-term athletic development and honoring the natural childhood developmental
process. When a child learns to
master the basic fundamentals of human movement then they are ready and
prepared to develop and maximize more advanced sport skills. Attempting to master the more advanced
skills prior to mastering foundational skills will lead to a rash of acute and
overuse injuries highlighted in the MSU study above.
I have undoubtedly revealed myself over the years regarding
my thoughts and feelings on youth athletic development and sport
specialization. That said I must
be aware of the brutal facts in order to make a difference in the long-term
development of the children that I coach. The brutal fact is the youth sport culture isn’t going
to change. 8 year-olds are still
going to play on travel teams and 10 year-olds will continue to “specialize” in
one sport 10 months out of the year.
But we can still make a difference by applying relevant strategies that
take into account the current youth sport and fitness culture. A great first step would be replacing
the current youth sport physical, dinosaur that it is, with a more practical
approach that reveals and provides more relevant information. Fortunately, I am putting together a
team that is preparing to meet the current demands.
Food For Thought:
Many food products that are marketed to children are often
times heavily processed and loaded with low-quality sweeteners like high
fructose corn syrup, breakfast cereal can be a big culprit. A few things you should be aware of
especially considering cereal that is marketed as healthy is anything but:
Is Breakfast Cereal Toxic?
Kashi Cereal Stirs Anger
No comments:
Post a Comment