'No pain, no gain'

Author: Alison Johnson

Back in September, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo suffered a broken rib and punctured lung but went back into the game - and didn't take a break the next week, either. About the same time, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick had a concussion and also didn't miss the next game.

Media commentators, coaches and fellow players gushed over how "tough" and "gutsy" both men were. The best athletes find ways to push through pain, they repeated, and my 10- and 8-year-old sons heard it all on ESPN. Clearly my boys are nowhere close to professional athletics, but both dream of someday making it big as baseball players.

So with such messages bombarding kids, how can a parent help them understand that playing hurt is not at all tough or gutsy for young athletes - but instead is the best way to land on the sidelines for good?

"The 'no pain, no gain' mantra has no place in youth sports," says Dr. William Levine, an orthopedic surgeon and director of sports medicine at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center and a leader of STOP Sports Injuries, a national initiative from the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine. "It's easy to turn what would be a simple problem to fix into a longer, more chronic injury that may even require surgery or ruin the chances of future success as an athlete."

But even if parents and coaches can grasp that - and according to doctors, not all do - they may struggle to convince a child or teenager who might feel invincible or pressured and try to downplay an injury. Here are messages that may make an impact on young ears:

If you want any shot at being a professional athlete, be smart. "Only a tiny percentage of kids make the pros," says Dr. David Geier, an orthopedic surgeon and director of sports medicine at Medical University of South Carolina who also is involved in STOP Sports Injuries. "For kids who have had a significant injury, those odds drop even more dramatically. What you don't see on SportsCenter is the huge percentage of people who never do get back after injuries."

Take baseball: scouts won't want anything to do with a young pitcher who has ignored elbow pain and stiffness and suffered severe cartilage and bone damage as a result, says Dr. Marc Cardelia, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon and medical director of the sports medicine program at Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters. "I've seen kids who need surgery by age 12," Cardelia says. "I've seen 16-year-olds whose careers are pretty much over."

Kids are very different from professional athletes. Young athletes should understand that sports are recreational activities for them, not a paying job with high stakes, says Alex Wallace, commissioner of Peninsula Youth Football and Cheerleading Organization, which draws local kids ages 6 to 14. "This is supposed to be fun," Wallace says. "It's a game, not life. If you get hurt, the only message should be: focus on getting well and then come back."

Injuries don't affect kids and adults the same way. Adults may heal faster because their brains and bodies are no longer developing. While some kids can recover from concussions in a few days, about half need up to two weeks and some need a month. In addition, all documented cases of second-impact syndrome - potentially fatal brain damage that occurs before a first injury has healed - have been in teenagers and children, says Dr. David Smith, a pediatric sports medicine specialist with CHKD. And what might be a strain or sprain in an older athlete could appear more like a broken bone in a child. "Kids are not just small adults," Smith says. "How fast Michael Vick recovers doesn't relate to them."

Taking care of yourself will get you back into action faster. "It's not a sign of weakness to do things that will keep you playing for the team in the long term," Geier says. Kids also should know that doctors aren't trying to keep them sidelined; in fact, their goal is to return athletes to action as quickly as safely possible. Any child feeling pain should rest and, if they don't get better, consult a sports medicine specialist.

Don't assume doctors can fix all problems. Kids might think a procedure such as Tommy John surgery - done to replace a worn ligament in the elbow - is a cure-all, especially if they see professional athletes come back stronger from the operation. Levine even has had parents ask him to operate on a child's healthy arm. But again, what can be true for adults doesn't translate to children. "Any misconception that surgery makes kids bigger and stronger needs to be squashed," he says. "If you need that surgery as a teenager, your arm is just not going to hold up."

Taking a break from a sport can make you a better player. An increase in year-round sports has put kids at higher risk for overuse injuries in certain joints. But if a child loves a sport, taking a step back often is more important than looking for constant competition. "If kids would just take a few months off from one sport and play something else, it would eliminate tons of these injuries," Geier says.

Adults aren't always right. Wallace has seen a father push his son to play football with shoulder pain, only to discover later he had a broken collarbone. Coaches also might tell a banged up player to "shake it off," even if he or she shows signs of a concussion. "Nobody should be putting pressure on a kid," Wallace says. So give kids permission to speak up if they don't feel ready to play.

For more tips on recognizing and handling injuries in young athletes, go to www.STOPSportsInjuries.org.

Source: Tidewater Parent Magazine