Little did Luke and I know when we began to develop our injury screening and prevention program, that there was a current national campaign to help prevent athletic overuse and trauma injuries in kids. This campaign launched in April is the Sports Trauma and Overuse Prevention (STOP) campaign, also referred to as STOP Sports Injuries. This is a collaborative effort between multiple organizations, but the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) is the driving force behind the effort. All involved organizations are committed to changing the current culture of youth sports that has injury rates nearing epidemic proportions.
STOP stands for Sports, Trauma and Overuse Prevention. While everyone acknowledges that injuries are an expected, if not unfortunate, byproduct of sports participation, this movement targets those injuries that can be prevented. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS)reports that overuse injuries account for nearly half of all injuries sustained by middle school and high school athletes. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) estimates that half of such overuse injuries are preventable. With the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimating that high school athletes alone account for approximately 2 million injuries per year, this means that nearly 500,000 injuries could be prevented annually, just within the high school population.
The most common injuries affecting kids in sports are not unfamiliar. In the lower half of the body, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears in the knee are the primary culprit, particularly in running and cutting sports. The most common serious overuse injury in overhead athletes occurs in baseball: the tear of the ulnar collateral ligament, the ligament that reinforces the inner aspect of the elbow. Disruption of the ligament requires reconstruction, now commonly known as Tommy John surgery, so named for the first professional pitcher who underwent the procedure. While these two examples may represent more extreme injuries that require surgery, there are many other types of injuries, especially of the "itis" variety (such as tendinitis and bursitis), which can be equally disabling. Chronic pain over an extended period of time can lead to long-term consequences for youth athletes including eventual exclusion from sports altogether.
According to AOSSM, the key to combating this trend in increased sports injuries is education. Recognition of early injury-warning signs is the responsibility of coaches and parents. Encouraging open communication among all parties so that a child can speak comfortably about an injury without fear of retaliation, like being benched or removed from a team, is critical. But there are also training elements that factor into injury prevention. Pre-participation physicals along with proper nutrition and hydration are critical. Cross-training and rest are just as important as sport-specific training in an athlete's success. To that end, maintaining a diverse sports schedule is one of the many tools being recommended by those involved in this campaign.
The initiative not only raises awareness and provides education on injury reduction, but also highlights how playing safe and smart can enhance and extend a child's athletic career, improve teamwork, reduce obesity rates and create a lifelong love of exercise and healthy activity. The message underscores the problems of overuse and trauma and emphasizes the expertise of our coalition of experts.
The above information was taken directly from the STOP website. For more information about the STOP Sports Injuries Campaign, visit their website at:
STOP stands for Sports, Trauma and Overuse Prevention. While everyone acknowledges that injuries are an expected, if not unfortunate, byproduct of sports participation, this movement targets those injuries that can be prevented. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS)reports that overuse injuries account for nearly half of all injuries sustained by middle school and high school athletes. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) estimates that half of such overuse injuries are preventable. With the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimating that high school athletes alone account for approximately 2 million injuries per year, this means that nearly 500,000 injuries could be prevented annually, just within the high school population.
The most common injuries affecting kids in sports are not unfamiliar. In the lower half of the body, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears in the knee are the primary culprit, particularly in running and cutting sports. The most common serious overuse injury in overhead athletes occurs in baseball: the tear of the ulnar collateral ligament, the ligament that reinforces the inner aspect of the elbow. Disruption of the ligament requires reconstruction, now commonly known as Tommy John surgery, so named for the first professional pitcher who underwent the procedure. While these two examples may represent more extreme injuries that require surgery, there are many other types of injuries, especially of the "itis" variety (such as tendinitis and bursitis), which can be equally disabling. Chronic pain over an extended period of time can lead to long-term consequences for youth athletes including eventual exclusion from sports altogether.
According to AOSSM, the key to combating this trend in increased sports injuries is education. Recognition of early injury-warning signs is the responsibility of coaches and parents. Encouraging open communication among all parties so that a child can speak comfortably about an injury without fear of retaliation, like being benched or removed from a team, is critical. But there are also training elements that factor into injury prevention. Pre-participation physicals along with proper nutrition and hydration are critical. Cross-training and rest are just as important as sport-specific training in an athlete's success. To that end, maintaining a diverse sports schedule is one of the many tools being recommended by those involved in this campaign.
The initiative not only raises awareness and provides education on injury reduction, but also highlights how playing safe and smart can enhance and extend a child's athletic career, improve teamwork, reduce obesity rates and create a lifelong love of exercise and healthy activity. The message underscores the problems of overuse and trauma and emphasizes the expertise of our coalition of experts.
The above information was taken directly from the STOP website. For more information about the STOP Sports Injuries Campaign, visit their website at:
