Pediatric Overuse Injuries- Too Much Of A Good Thing?

I remember in high school when we voted someone most athletic, they usually were good at more than one sport. It may have been a guy that played football, then basketball, then baseball. Or a girl that played soccer, then ran track. That, however, is becoming less common today and specialization is becoming the norm.

Kids are becoming dedicated to a particular sport at a younger age. They focus themselves year round on trying to be the best. They go from their high school team to the club team. They hope for a possible college scholarship and perhaps a professional career.

Along with year-round preparation and practice though, there are consequences- an alarming increase in overuse injuries. In the 2005-2006 school year, more than 1.4 million injuries were sustained by high school athletes. Most of these, could have been prevented with proper education and timely treatment.

The important thing to realize is that children are not little adults. Coaches need to be educated in the effects of overtraining on an immature musculoskeletal system. What worked for them and what is tradition, is not always in the best interest of the young athlete. With the evolution of science and medicine, training methods also need to evolve.

If you bend a piece of metal repetitively, it will eventually break at its weakest link. And that is what happens with an immature musculoskeletal system. Where adults can get tendinitis, strains, or ruptures at their weakest links, children can get traction apophysitis injuries. These are irritations to the growth plates because children have bones that are not completely fused. Injuries at these vulnerable sites produce inflammation, pain, and can stimulate bone growth.

Common sites for these types of injuries are: heels, shins, knees, hips, elbows, and shoulders. If your athletic child is experiencing pain in any of these areas, the best thing to do is set up an appointment with your physician to have them evaluated, so the proper course of treatment can be recommended. (I'll talk a little more about treatments in my next blog). And remember, just because a physical therapist says they treat sports injuries, doesn't mean they have direct experience in a sports setting. At ESPT, our director is the only Board Certified Sports Clinical Specialist in the area. (Check us out at Elite Sports Physical Therapy).

The bottom line is that kids aren't immune to injuries and they are in fact becoming more common. Increased awareness by the athletes, parents, and coaches can aid with earlier detection and prevention. And this in turn will allow kids to continue playing the sports they love and to continue just being kids.

(To Be Continued)