Qualified Sports Medicine Experts Can Guide Your Young Athlete on the Road to Recovery
High school athletes account for an estimated 2 million injuries, 500,000 doctor visits and 30,000 hospitalizations each year, according to STOP Sports Injuries.
Additionally, more than 3.5 million kids under age 14 receive medical treatment for sports-related injuries each year; and children ages 5 to 14 account for nearly 40 percent of all sports-related injuries treated in hospitals.
Reports also show the rate and severity of injury increases with a child’s age.
If you have a young athlete that experiences an injury, selecting a medical team to provide quality sports medicine and orthopedic care is essential to get them back in the game. Orthopedic problems such as bone, joint, muscle, nerve disorders, fractures, dislocations and sprains require prompt attention and proper treatment.
MOST COMMON DIAGNOSES SEEN IN ERS FOR SPORTS INJURIES in young athletes:
- Strains or sprains: 451,480
- Fractures: 249,500
- Contusions and abrasions: 210,640
- Concussions: 163,670
- Lacerations: 85,560
- Dislocations: 33,300
— SOURCE: Safe Kids Worldwide
Top 10 Sports Injuries:
- Runner’s knee, Click to learn more about prevention and treatment.
- Shoulder injury
- Ankle sprain
- Tennis or golf elbow
- Pulled muscle
- Lower back pain
- Shin splints
- Groin strain
- Concussion
- Achilles tendinitis
— SOURCE: FOX News
Overuse injuries are responsible for nearly half of all sports injuries to middle and high school students.
Overuse Injuries vs. Acute Injuries
Injuries among young athletes fall into two basic categories: overuse and acute injuries – both types include injuries to the soft tissues (muscles and ligaments) and bones.
What’s an Acute Injury?
Acute injuries are caused by a sudden trauma, for example, collisions with obstacles on the field or between players. Common acute injuries among young athletes include:
- Contusions (bruises)
- Sprains (a partial or complete tear of a ligament)
- Strains (a partial or complete tear of a muscle or tendon)
- Fractures
- Twisting force to the lower leg or foot is a common cause of ankle fractures, as well as ligament injuries (sprains)
— SOURCE: American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons
What’s an Overuse Injury?
Overuse injuries, on the other hand, occur gradually over time. When an athletic activity is repeated often, parts of the body do not have enough time to heal. Overuse injuries can affect muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones and growth plates.
Stress fractures are a common overuse injury in young athletes. As new bone develops and replaces older bone, if activity is too great, the body cannot make new bone fast enough to replace it. When this happens, bone is weakened and stress fractures can occur.
Although the risks involved in sports cannot be completely eliminated, proper intervention and care can help get your athlete back in the game quicker.