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Ready, set, go! Go for the gold! Win the game! Be the best! These are the sounds of sport in the United States. Nowhere in the country is there such an emphasis on winning and performance as in Southern California. Personal coaches and trainers are available for most sports and have become a "necessity" for success. Playing a sport is a great way to keep your body in shape. However, training for and playing a sport can lead to injuries. At least 35 million children and young adults engage in sports; a large number are involved in competitive activities. Each year more than 3 million children (nearly 10 percent of players) suffer from injuries secondary to sports activities. Fortunately, most injuries in children will not influence a long-term disability. While all injuries are not preventable, it is important for the athlete and parents to know and understand some principles of prevention. The injuries suffered by children and adolescents can be divided into two major categories, traumatic and overuse (overwork). Traumatic injuries include sprains and strains as well as fractures and concussions. Overuse injuries are secondary to repeated actions of a single joint or muscle group or rapid and excessive activity after long periods of inactivity. Both types of injuries have the potential to affect your child's ability to play sports and to produce excessive worry and anxiety in parents. According to the National Institute of Health, there are some things that you can do to prevent injuries. • Enroll your child in organized sports through schools, community clubs and recreation areas where there may be adults who are certified athletic trainers skilled in the prevention, recognition and immediate care of athletic injuries. • Make sure you child uses the proper protective gear for the particular sport. • Warm-up exercises, such as stretching and light jogging, can help minimize the chance of muscle strain or other soft tissue injury during sports. Warm-up exercises make the body's tissues warmer and more flexible. Cooling-down exercises loosen the body's muscles that have tightened during exercise. Make warm-up and cool-downs part of your child's routine before and after sports participation. • Have plenty of fluid available (water or sports drinks) to stay properly hydrated. Rapid treatment of soft tissue injuries can make the difference. If your child sustains a sprain, strain or a bony injury, the best treatment is easy to remember: "RICE" (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation). Rest: Reduce or stop using the injured area for 48 hours. Ice: Put an ice pack on the injured area for 20 minutes at a time, four to eight times per day. Compression: Compression of the injured area (knee, ankle or wrist) may help reduce the swelling. These include elastic wraps, special boots, air casts and splints. Elevation: Keep the injured area elevated above the level of the heart. Use a pillow to help elevate an injured limb. It is important for parents to instruct children to pay attention to their bodies and to realize that pain means some injury is occurring and they need to evaluate their activity. Serious injuries often can be avoided if treatment is early and aggressive with a short period of rest. "Playing through the pain" may only make the injury worse and increase the time to rehabilitate and return to activity. If pain persists with simple treatment, evaluation by your physician is warranted. Enjoy, have fun and keep your body in shape to reduce the chance of injury. Dr. Clyde Wesp is a pediatrician with Southern Orange County Pediatric Associates. He is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the MemorialCare Physician Society. Questions? E-mail to: askdrwesp@netscape.net. |
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