“The traumatic injuries are something that you can’t avoid in the nature of sports,” said Michael Hughes, Clinic Coordinator and lead Physical Therapist at Agape Physical Therapy of Gates. “A lot of kids will come from the winter and start their spring season, and they don’t have a good strengthening regimen when starting their specific sport. It can lead to some injuries if they don’t have the proper muscle training.”
Orthopedic surgeons at Strong Memorial Hospital are seeing similar trends. According to a hospital spokesperson, orthopedic sports medicine surgeon Mike Maloney, M.D., confirms that he’s seeing the same rate of increase in his practice. We’re told Maloney specializes in treating elite student athletes and says the following factors are causing the alarming increase in this injury:
• The increasing level of intensity in scholastic sports
• More kids specializing in one sport and doing year-round training in that sport
• Lack of emphasis on proper nutrition
• Lack of focus on preventive care – teaching kids how to get conditioned to be strong, and how to move to help prevent injury.
Jeff Bobzin can’t preach it enough to the youth soccer players he coaches in Gates.
“We encourage kids to drink a lot of water, eat right and exercise,” Bobzin said.
Boys between ages 10-14 make up more than half of the reported injuries in the study. Therapists at Agape say its important for parents and kids to map out a training plan to prevent serious body injuries.
