Caitlin Whyte (Host): Welcome to BayCare HealthChat. I'm your host, Caitlin Whyte. And today, we are going over common injuries in youth athletes. Joining us for this conversation is orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Tracey DeLucia.

Well, thank you so much for being on the show today, Doctor. Let's start with the different types of adolescent sport injuries. What do you see a lot of in the fall and as the seasons go on with different sports?

Dr. Tracey DeLucia: So, there are three types of injuries that we see as the school year starts up. In adolescents, these can be startup type injuries, these can be overuse type injuries, or these can be traumatic injuries.

Host: And what are some unique Florida considerations when we're talking about our youth athletes?

Dr. Tracey DeLucia: In Florida, children tend to play the same sport year-round because our weather allows it. For instance, in the Midwest, you're forced to stop outdoor soccer and baseball training, so the children don't have as many hours doing the same activity. In Florida, when kids do the same activity year-round, they tend to get more overuse injuries because they're using the same body parts way too much.

In addition, in Florida, there's such a plethora of sports that kids are often on multiple teams doing the same sports. There's not really an off season for them to rest, condition, or build up their strength in their muscles. In fact, even if the children aren't playing their primary sport, they're often still doing specific lessons. For instance, in baseball, they might be doing hitting lessons. In speed skating, they might be doing speed training lessons. So even though they're not competing, they haven't stopped the actual activity.

Host: Well, I'd love to focus on growth plates as well and anatomy during this time. Why is that important to consider?

Dr. Tracey DeLucia: In the age group of 12 to 19 year olds, in other words, what we call the adolescent period, kids are growing the fastest. So, girls grow the fastest between 11 and a half and 13 and a half years. And boys grow the fastest between 12 and a half and 14 and a half years. And during that time, their growth plates that are made out of cartilage are very vulnerable to injury. Cartilage is the same material that's in our outside portion of our ear, and it's very squishy. So when kids fall or have an injury, they tend to have a broken bone through their growth plate. If they injure their growth plate, there's a possibility that it might stop growing or it can grow crooked.

Host: Well, heading back into specific types of injuries, what should we know about, say, startup injuries?

Dr. Tracey DeLucia: So for startup injuries, it would be preferable for kids to be in shape before they show up on the first day of the sport. For instance, if you're in cross country, the first day of cross country practice should not be the first day that you run. You're often doing the activity too quickly. I recommend that kids do a little bit of running over the summer. If your sport is swimming, perhaps you should be swimming over the summer and doing the activity. Kids get startup injuries when they do too much too fast, when they do an activity for two hours at a time and they haven't done it in six weeks.

Host: And you mentioned those overuse injuries as well. How can we strike that balance of practice and dedication, but do it in a healthy way?

Dr. Tracey DeLucia: Overuse injuries occur when these children play the same sport all year. The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons recommends that kids don't do the same sport more than eight months out of the year. They also recommend that a child does not do more hours in a week than their age. Both of those factors have directly been linked to having an increase in injuries. We think it's because the same muscles get fatigued and kids lose form and are more prone to injury.

Host: We talk about so-called major sports injuries, how do they differ from those other types and what makes something a "major injury"?

Dr. Tracey DeLucia: So, major injuries or traumatic injuries are things that happen all of a sudden. There weren't necessarily any predisposing conditions or pains happening before the injury occurred. These would be things like broken bones, sprained ankles, torn ACLs, or dislocated shoulders. Unfortunately, there's not a lot we can do to prevent these.

We do know that having strong muscles prevents a lot of injuries to the joints. We do know that strong bones with good nutrition prevents fractures. We do know that having muscles that aren't fatigued prevents injuries. And we also know that sleeping more than nine hours a night in this adolescent period has been linked to a decrease in injury.

Host: Let's talk about protective equipment as well. What should we be thinking of when we're shopping for that for our kids?

Dr. Tracey DeLucia: It's important to make sure that you have the correct equipment that the coach is asking for. This unfortunately isn't the time to find the items on sale or borrow the neighbor's equipment. Just as when kids were little and we wanted to make sure our car seat was new, we shouldn't have an old helmet. We shouldn't have old pads for football. Things need to be in good condition and relatively new. Unfortunately, that means that they probably will be expensive, but it's worth it because they have been shown to protect and prevent injury.

Host: All right. And finally, we must touch on those annual physicals and sports physicals specific to the sport. Why are they so important to get every year?

Dr. Tracey DeLucia: In children, there can be conditions that are passed down from their parents or even conditions that we didn't know about that can lead to injury or even sudden death in athletes. So, having a good physical that includes checking out your heart, the mobility of your joints, your nutrition, your sleep habits, can actually prevent injuries from happening. It's important for you to go to a physician that knows you well. And it's important to follow the physician's guidelines to make sure if there's any additional testing or any additional circumstances that they might have to follow, that you actually follow through with those.

Host: Wonderful. Well, as we wrap up here, is there anything we didn't touch on when it comes to getting ready for the sports seasons with our kids?

Dr. Tracey DeLucia: I think the most important thing is make sure that your child knows that they're not supposed to be hurting. For instance, if they are in practice or they are doing their conditioning and they say it's really hurting while they're doing something, that's not normal. Everybody should hurt after they do the activity, but if it hurts to do something, they may have incorrect form or they may have a true injury. It should probably be checked out.

Host: Some really important things to remember, Doctor. Thank you so much for your work and for joining us today. That wraps up this episode of BayCare HealthChat. Head on over to our website at BayCare.org for more information, and to get connected with one of our providers. Please remember to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and all of the other BayCare podcasts. For more health tips and updates, follow us on your social channels. If you found this podcast informative, please share it on your social media and be sure to check out all the other interesting podcasts in our library. I'm Caitlin Whyte.