Newswise — Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland has the region's first sports medicine clinic just for kids. The Sports Medicine Center for Young Athletes, a division of the hospital's pediatric orthopedic surgery department, evaluates treats and rehabilitates children and adolescents with sports-related injuries. The center also designs injury prevention programs specific to adolescents, whose growing bones and cartilage are more susceptible to injuries than those of adults.
Some types of sports injuries are seasonal. For example, the summer months are a time when experts see a spike in shoulder injuries suffered by little league baseball players and swimmers due to the overuse of tendons and repetitive movement. In the fall, experts see an increase in ankle sprains and knee injuries due to football and soccer seasons. Consequently, with summer in full swing and fall fast approaching, it is essential for children to receive the proper exercise and equipment training to reduce their risk of injury. Approximately 30-40 million American children participate in organized sports. (1*)
Many of these young athletes are suffering more and new types of injuries. Up to 50 percent of over use injuries sustained by young athletes are preventable. (2*) Parents and coaches can help to reduce injury in young athletes if they incorporate some simple tips. Michelle Cappello, a physical therapist at Children's Hospital Oakland offers this advice:
"¢ Children should always have a thorough warm-up before playing sports "¢ Avoid repetitive motion without breaks - overuse injuries are the common cause of adolescent injuries. "¢ Cross train to avoid muscle imbalances. Resist the urge to focus on one sport until after puberty. "¢ Children can strength train or weight train, but they need supervision to ensure proper technique. "¢ Flexibility training and stretching program should be mandatory and best done after a sports activity to relax and lengthen muscles. "¢ Girls should focus on specific strength training techniques because they are 4 to 6 times more at risk of tearing their ACL (knee ligament) than boys. (*3) "¢ Young athletes should not be encouraged to play through pain.
"Children today participate in intense, competitive sports. Our goal is to keep them on the field while taking an aggressive approach to maintaining the health of at-risk growing bones and cartilage," says Cappello. "A young athlete's body is still developing. Incorporating preventative measures now can significantly reduce the risk of injuries that could last a lifetime."
The Sports Medicine Center for Young Athletes was created to address the increasing demand for high-level care for sports injuries in young athletes. The clinic offers services including:
"¢ Diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic sport-related injuries"¢ Sports-specific rehabilitation and return-to-play programs"¢ Nutrition and performance enhancement"¢ Community and professional education.
Sources1. * The Center for Kids First in Sports:http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:Z5deujQNjUoJ:www.kidsfirstinsports.org/pdf/The_Facts_about_Youth_Sports.pdf+national+pta+children+sports+school+million&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=4
2. * Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=8371662&query_hl=2&itool=pubmed_docsum
3. * The American Journal of Sports Medicine:http://ajs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/full/34/2/299
About Children's Hospital & Research Center OaklandChildren's Hospital & Research Center Oakland is Northern California's only freestanding and independent children's hospital. Children's is the leader in many pediatric specialties including neonatology, cardiology, neurosurgery and intensive care. The hospital is a designated Level 1 pediatric trauma center and has the largest pediatric critical care facility in the region. Children's Hospital has 190 licensed beds, 201 hospital-based physicians in 30 specialties, more than 2,611 employees and an operating budget of $312 million. Children's research arm, Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, has about 300 staff members and an annual budget of more than $49 million. Primary research funding comes from the National Institutes of Health. The institute is a leader in translational blood diseases, developing new vaccines for infectious diseases and discovering new treatment protocols for previously fatal or debilitating conditions such as cancers, sickle cell disease and thalassemia, diabetes, asthma, HIV/AIDS, pediatric obesity, nutritional deficiencies, birth defects, hemophilia and cystic fibrosis.
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