Sports and Activities

Types of Sports and Recreational Activities:
Basketball—Shoulder dislocation with recurrent instability are often seen here. ACL knee injuries also frequent due to the twisting and cutting motions that are part of basketball. A player may feel a “pop” before their knee begins to buckle. Treatment is determined by physical growth or age of the child. Ankle and ligament sprains are quite common in children in basketball from overuse or from a player-to-player collision.

Baseball and Softball—The second-most common sports injury in high-school athletics in baseball. Baseball players, particularly pitchers, tend to have more upper extremity injuries than lower extremity injuries. Shoulder and other injuries can occur in baseball from abnormal stresses such as throwing sidearm. Little League Elbow or Pitcher’s Elbow is a chronic overuse injury related to this sport. It is seen most frequently in children ages 12-16 as a shoulder overuse injury.

Football—The highest rate on injury in high-school athletics. A tough contact sport for children, this sport may involve lower-extremity injuries, hematomas, and loss of motion in the short-term. Stinger or burner injuries are most frequent, involving pain or shots of pain in the shoulder or neck muscles. Reoccurrence can occur and lead to weakness or sensory loss. Low back pain and spondylolisthesis from hyper extension of the back are readily seen. This condition results from stress fracture in the lower back vertebrae, with damaged vertebrae slipping forward and pressing on the spinal canal and nerves. Proper treatment and physical therapies can prevent these conditions from causing permanent damage.

Gymnastics/Dance—Improper warm-ups, chronic overuse injuries to ankles from improper landing and excessive weight and balance issues are all seen in this sport. Repetitive hyperextension leads to lumbar and spinal injuries

Snow Skiing and Snowboarding—The extremely popular sport of snowboarding carries many specific risks, such as wrist, shoulder and ankle injuries, as well as spinal trauma. Most spinal injuries are caused by compression and half the injured snowboarders had damage to the spinal cord. Sprains account for over half the injuries reported, with the lead foot being 3 times more vulnerable. Snowboarder’s ankle, lateral twisting being the cause from high impact falls that people often mistake for simple ankle sprain.

Snow Skiing and Snowboarding—The extremely popular sport of snowboarding carries many specific risks, such as wrist, shoulder and ankle injuries, as well as spinal trauma. Most spinal injuries are caused by compression and half the injured snowboarders had damage to the spinal cord. Sprains account for over half the injuries reported, with the lead foot being 3 times more vulnerable. Snowboarder’s ankle, lateral twisting being the cause from high impact falls that people often mistake for simple ankle sprain.

Soccer—A contact sport, soccer runs the risk of lower extremity contusions or bruising. Soft-tissue contusions (bruises) are the most common soccer injuries. Fractures are relatively uncommon, with repetitive traction injuries more common in knee and foot. Overuse injuries, such as stress fractures, are often from over-training accounting for 30 percent of all soccer injuries ranging from mild tendonitis to stress fractures. Sever’s disease, another common area of pain in young players, (from age 7 and up) is a growth plate inflammation of the heel bone, often mimicking tendonitis.

Back

like Spondylolisthesis; also a frequent occurrence in gymnastics, with spinal problems and pain. Upper extremity demands on athletes cause many injuries and strains. Stress fractures and shin splints also are frequent occurrences, along with frequent wrist injuries from overuse. Among girls' sports, gymnastics has one of the highest injury rates, increasing with the level of competition.

Hockey—A plethora of injuries surround youth ice hockey, from neck strain, burners and stingers to knee and ACL, meniscal tears, to mechanical and neurological low-back pains. Skating strengthens the quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteus muscles, and calves, and greatly improves balance and coordination. Overuse injuries cannot be underestimated or their treatments overlooked.

In-Line Skating—(Rollerblading) 60 percent of all rollerblading injuries are from children ages 10-14 years old. Forty percent of all in-line skating injuries occur in the wrist area or lower forearm, followed by knee, face and elbow. Falling on outstretched hands can cause severe wrist pain or fractures. Overuse injuries can lead to tenosynovitis, an inflammation of the lining of the sheath that surrounds a tendon, seen in wrists, hands and feet.

Skateboarding—Skateboarding styles have become many dangerous with 10-ft high ramps and city cruising with complex stunts and tricks. According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, skateboards send an estimated 32,000 people to hospital emergency rooms for treatment of injuries each year. The most common injury from a skateboard crash is a fracture, although some skateboard falls or collisions with motor vehicles can be fatal. Most skateboard crashes occur because of irregular riding surfaces. Inexperienced skateboarders make-up one-third of all skateboarding injuries. Most commonly, they are injuries to the ankle followed by face, wrist and elbow. Risk severity can be greatly lessened with the use of protective gear.

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