Child Wellness: Risks faced by student athletes
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Kids have the opportunity to play all year long with no break, and that could spell trouble when it comes to injures.
"I played when I was younger," student athlete Jordan Holmes said. "I used to play baseball, football and basketball, at one time."
Although Jordan Holmes was an all-around athlete, he favored basketball. Just a sophomore in high school, Holmes is already familiar with injuries.
"This year I hurt my knee and had to stretch it out and last year my lower back," Holmes said.
Brett Sears of Capital Region Physical Therapy in New York said, "Children are becoming ultra-specialized in their sport and sometimes they are not getting a variety.”
Too much of any one thing can lead to overuse.
"We have been seeing a lot of student athletes in the clinic after injury who have lost weeks or months at their sport because of an injury," Sears said.
It's called the Preseason Sports Program. Sears, a physical therapist, works with young athletes before the season begins. They work on preventing injuries and targeting problem areas.
"In the clinic we see junior high school age kids and high school age kids who are developing either repetitive strain injuries, knee pain, shoulder pain,” Sears said. "They're getting muscular co-contraction around the lower extremities, the ankle, knee and hip."
The training program not only makes prevent injuries, it can make a better athlete.
"I always wanted, when I get older, to be able to dunk, so I can say, 'Yes, I can do it,'" Holmes said.