High School and College Injury prevention in high-risk sports
with Thomas Weber, M.D.
Thomas Weber, M.D. - Orthopaedics, Fellowship trained in Sports Medicine, who is with Advanced Healthcare, is not a surgeon and that puts his first-time patients at ease. What he offers is relief with massage practices and physical therapy.
"My focus is: how can I change the form or function of a part of the body to make it better," Dr. Weber said. And, while eighty to ninety percent of his patients don't need surgery, he also knows when an injury requires a referral to one of his orthopaedic surgeon partners.
A high percentage of Dr. Weber's patients are students active in high school and college sports. Sports-related injuries, especially among adolescents, are common Dr. Weber said, but often avoidable. Proper conditioning before starting a sport, proper ongoing training and proper equipment make sports safer and creates better athletes.
Common injuries and 'risky sports'
In Dr. Weber's practice, the most common problems in young adults are knee and shoulder injuries. These may occur suddenly while participating in a sport (acute injuries) or through overuse (chronic injuries).
Rotator cuff tendonitis, for example, is a common inflammation of the tendons in the shoulder muscles. It is caused by overuse of the arms in swimming, tennis and baseball. "Kids throw too many pitches, they do too many serves, they swim too many laps," Dr. Weber said.
Girls and young women in soccer or basketball are particularly prone to anterior knee pain (pain under the kneecap) often caused by inadequate strength in the thigh muscles.
Football is one of the most dangerous sports for young men. Other risky sports include track and field, especially pole-vaulting, and gymnastics. Some injuries are just part of the game, but others may be avoided with proper conditioning.
Tone the center to protect the limbs
By the time students sign up for college sports, they've had some experience and are more physically prepared. This is less likely in high school. "Sometimes high school kids want to do sports their bodies aren't ready for, or sports they aren't built to do," Dr. Weber said. "I can't stress this to parents enough - before your kids get involved in a sport, have them see their doctor for an evaluation. Let the doctor put them on a training program to get them ready for their sport."
To enhance ability and decrease injuries, Dr. Weber recommends core-strengthening exercises, which tone and strengthens the muscles, tendons and ligaments of the chest, abdomen, hips and buttocks. These include the well-known pelvic lifts and sit ups along with torso stretches and some weight work.
"Core strengthening exercises help the strength of the extremity as well. When your abdomen, your hip flexors and your back muscles are toned you'll be able to play stronger and better," Dr. Weber explained. He added that athletes from the Arizona Diamondbacks to Tiger Woods are on core strengthening programs. "Tiger does 300 sit- ups a day. I wonder how many people would make time for sit-ups if they knew it would improve their golf game?"
Strike a balance between play and rest
Kids get caught up in sports. Many join a school team which demands practice after school and on weekends. The more enthusiastic may also enroll for special training camps during semester and summer breaks, or play a different sport. But young bodies, which may be still growing and acquiring bone density, need time to rest and repair or problems arise. "Kids should have at least a few months off every year, no matter what sport they're in. Otherwise chronic injuries like stress fractures and tendonitis show up," Dr. Weber said.
Warm up before you play
To minimize risk of injury, young athletes should warm up and stretch before playing. "I recommend five to ten minutes of light jogging or similar time on a bike, treadmill or Stairmaster. This gets the blood pumping to the muscles. Stretches aren't as effective until the body temperature is up," Dr. Weber said.
After warm up and stretches, young athletes are ready to head onto the playing field or for some low-weight, high repetition weight work to tone and strengthen muscles without putting too much stress on joints.
Wear the right gear
Protective gear is sports specific, but a problem that occurs more often in high school than in college is ill-fitting gear. Sometimes helmets are too large or small or shoulder pads don't fit well. Since these items are designed to protect athletes, improper fit leads to more injuries, Dr. Weber said.
The doctor also recommends proper fitting shoes that support the foot. "Athletes who run cross-country need to change their shoes after three hundred to four hundred miles," he said. Athletes should also have their shoes fit by someone at a good sporting goods store who can help pick the right fitting shoe for each person based on the shape of their foot and lower leg.
If an injury does occur on the playing field or during training, it should heal relatively quickly. "Kids should not have prolonged pain. If they have more than a few days of achy or stiff muscles, they should see a doctor and get a diagnosis or they risk doing more damage. Back or knee pain that lingers should not be accepted as normal in kids. There is usually something wrong," Dr. Weber concluded.
Contact Dr. Weber's office for further information.
