November 28, 2014 - TCO

Young Athletes Getting Injured More Than Ever Before

I treat a lot of young athletes, and agree with this article from Orthopedics Today, which states that young athletes age 14 are suffering from overuse injuries at an alarming rate. When the same body parts are repeatedly being exercised and pushed to their thresholds, they become at risk of overuse injuries. What is causing this? Many orthopedic surgeons, myself included, believe it is due to parents immersing their child in a single sport year-round, rather than letting them play a variety of sports, which use different muscles, ligaments, and joints.

Click here to read the full article.

Below is an excerpt:
“Parents may look toward athletes such as Tiger Woods, who began golfing as a toddler, and hold that immersing a child in a single sport at a young age will produce a professional-level athlete. However, in most cases, our sources noted that excessive practice most likely leads to injury rather than perfection.”
– Orthopedics Today, July 2014