Sunday, July 11, 2010

Reducing Overuse Injuries Among Youth


I know I recently wrote about this topic, but Mark Hyman's Sports Illustrated article on this topic is worth sharing.

Hyman wrote a great piece in June about pioneering orthopedic surgeon James Andrews' efforts to warn parents against overuse injuries among children. This problem is reaching epidemic proportions and parents, as well as coaches, must be more sensitive to it.

As a parent who is assisting his 14-year-old son in coping through a serious elbow injury, I can tell you that you shouldn't take any signs of injury lightly among athletic children. If you detect something is wrong, visit your family physician immediately.

While we have carefully monitored our son's sports' activities over the years, his injury was more genetically-driven. When he began "short-arming" his baseball throws, I wished we would have acted more quickly. We're on the road to recovery now, but it's been a challenging road.

As the competition and hype heats up among youth athletes, pay careful attention to this issue and avoid problems you may regret later.

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