Sports Injuries
By: Bob Metcalfe
Updated: October 19, 2010
"You pretty much would have a consensus among orthopedic surgeons that say its an epidemic quite honestly," said Dr. Mike Maloney.
Its not a disease. It's something they treat here far too often at University Sports Medicine. Injuries that kids suffer resulting from overuse in sports. Over the past decade, the number of adolescents suffering from these injuries has skyrocketed.
"We're seeing a lot of kids participating on a single team for 12 months, really not allowing their bodies to accomodate or get some rest or develop normally," said Dr. Maloney.
Knees are a common injury site for sports involving running and jumping like soccer or field hockey, and shoulder and elbow injuries in over-the-head sports like lacrosse or tennis.
Dr. Maloney has one big suggestion for parents in the prevention of these injuries: Communication between you and your young athlete.
"The biggest thing with prevention is that the kids don't know necessarily when to stop. Their desire is there, they want to participate," said Dr. Maloney.
Open dialogue with your kids could prevent that sore elbow or hurting wrist from becoming something far worse years down the road.
"One of the keys for success from one level to the next is to prevent themselves from having an injury," said Dr. Maloney.
Injury prevention, your success depends on it!
