Too much training leads to injuries

By Keith Kenter, MD, UC Health Updated 12:59 PM Thursday, September 9, 2010

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than half of the  7 million sports and recreation-related injuries that occur each year are sustained by youth between ages 5 and 24. More than half of all sports injuries in children, experts say, are preventable.

Shin splints, stress fractures and muscle swelling in the lower extremities are historically associated with preparation for fall sports such as football, soccer, cross country and volleyball. While it was once popular to participate in a variety of sports, most young athletes now stick with the same sport year round, which can lead to overtraining and repetitive use injuries.

When you’re using the same muscles over and over again, there’s not enough down time. There’s more and more of a push to get in as many games as possible at as many facilities as possible, and you lose sight of what is happening to the athlete.

As volunteer and team physicians for elementary, junior high and high school teams in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, my colleagues and I have seen firsthand what overtraining, overexertion, and disregard for all the red flags that signify an injury can do to a young athlete’s body.

To help address the overall increase, UC Health Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine has joined the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine in a national campaign to help prevent sports-related injuries among young athletes.

The campaign — called STOP, which stands for Sports Trauma and Overuse Prevention — educates athletes, parents, trainers, coaches and health-care providers about the rapid increase in youth sports injuries, and the necessary steps to help reverse the trend.

The campaign website and pledge are available at www.stopsportsinjuries.org.

Keith Kenter, MD, sees patients at the UC Health Medical Office Building in West Chester. For appointment information, call (513) 475-8690.

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