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The next Roger Clemens: Preventing pediatric sports injuries
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As young athletes gear up for the transition from spring to summer sports, pediatric sports medicine specialists are encouraging parents to put safety first. According to Raphael Longobardi, MD, FAAOS, physicians are seeing more and more children with sports-related injuries. “Statistically, there are a greater number of opportunities for injuries due to the increased numbers of participants.” He often sees pediatric sports-related injuries at his practice; University Orthopedic Center in Hackensack, N.J.
Longobardi lists contact sports, such as football and hockey, as some of the most dangerous sports. He says soccer is also an at-risk sport, particularly for females because there is a four- to 10-fold increased risk of anterior cruciate ligament injuries in female soccer players.
He says it is important to ensure young athletes have the proper equipment, conditioning and strength training to prevent overuse injuries. According to Longobardi, youth sports leagues are often run by parents who do not always know proper warm-up techniques or how to size equipment, which often results in improper conditioning.
Longobardi also says participating in multiple sports is better than specializing in one sport at a young age. Neuromuscular development is improved by cross training, which produces a better-conditioned athlete and reduces repetitive motion injuries. “Participating in different activities requires the individual to use different muscle groups in different ways,” he says.
As a personal trainer, athlete and parent of two teenagers, Philadelphia area native Denny Chipollini often sees coaches pushing child athletes too far, resulting in joint overuse injuries that could damage the growth plate, an area of cartilage located at the end of a bone which allows them to grow in length. Chipollini often works with pediatric patients who have a prosthetic, encouraging them to try new activities and stay active.
When training young athletes, who are not physically ready to lift weights until after reaching puberty, Chipollini refrains from pushing too hard because it can tax growing joints. At first, he says, “I don’t put weight on the bar and will have them do bar for 15 to 20 reps, just to get the blood flowing.”
When an injury does occur, it is essential to visit a pediatric orthopedic specialist. Often, X-rays do not show a fracture at the growth plate because children’s bones are more malleable and may break in unexpected places or at angles that cannot be detected in an X-ray.
In this case, the expertise of a pediatric specialist may detect a hairline fracture, which, if left untreated, could result in the limb growing at a wrong angle or create small deformity. Longobardi says a pediatric specialist should handle complicated cases or cases of swelling and pain with inconclusive X-rays.
Longobardi often sees shoulder and elbow injuries in pediatric patients, “at a critical time when growth plates are still developing. He says coaches and parents who push child athletes too far are one reason for the increase in pediatric sports-related injuries.
He says, “Pushing any child into a situation in which they are not comfortable can result in injury; their own apprehension can limit their judgment and slow their reaction time.”
Youth sports are designed to be fun. Often, parents are unwittingly trying to live vicariously by raising the next Roger Clemens. “What they don’t realize is the extremely low percentage of individuals [who actually] become professional athletes,” Longobardi says.
Reducing competition and emphasizing fun is one way to help reduce sports-related injuries. Longobardi says, “First and foremost, a child needs to be interested in and enjoy the sport [he/she is] playing.”
Chipollini agrees, when speaking at schools across the country, he inspires children to “overcome adversity, accept diversity and to live their lives with 'no excuses, no limits!’” He emphasizes warm-ups, nutrition and hydration as essential for setting a lifelong foundation of health. He says, “If they are doing that now, they will do it through their lifetime and will have a healthy life and be very fit with minimal injuries.”
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