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Sports Medicine and Youth Sports Safety Tips
Dr. Barry S. Kraushaar shares how sports medicine helps treat and prevent injuries in children.
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Learn more about Barry S. Kraushaar, MD
Barry S. Kraushaar, MD
Barry S. Kraushaar, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon with Northeast Orthopedics and Sports Medicine (NEOSM). He is Dual board certified in orthopedic surgery and sports medicine by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.Learn more about Barry S. Kraushaar, MD
Transcription:
Sports Medicine and Youth Sports Safety Tips
Bill Klaproth (Host): From ankle sprains to hamstring strains, from jammed fingers to injuries that linger, kids playing sports face a variety of injuries, so how does Sports Medicine help treat and prevent injuries? Let's find out, with Dr. Barry Kraushaar, an Orthopedic Surgeon at the Joint Replacement Center at Montefiore Nyack Hospital.
This is the Health Talk Podcast from Montefiore Nyack Hospital. I'm Bill Klaproth. Dr. Kraushaar, let's start with this: what role does Sports Medicine play when it comes to youth sports? I'm thinking certainly, in terms of treatment, but what about prevention, as well?
Dr. Barry Kraushaar (Guest): Certainly, when a person becomes injured, a Sports Medicine specialist needs to understand the nature of the injury, the nature of the sport, and what the expectations are of the athletes. We also serve as advisors to teams. We serve as advisors to the athletic trainers and to the team coaches. We serve as advisors to the parents sometimes. Sometimes, we give lectures to groups that are coming together before the season so we can prepare people for what they should do, give them an idea of some exercises that are beneficial, and some that they should avoid.
Host: As an advisor in that role, it's mainly prevention at that point?
Dr. Kraushaar: Well, yes, of course. You can't prevent a lot of injuries that occur on the field, but we do help to give people some advice as to what kind of exercises might be best. If we get to know an individual athlete ahead of time then we might get to know whether they are truly prepared for a sport or whether they need to be playing a less aggressive role in the sport, we have an idea. Particularly, if somebody is coming off of a history of injuries from beforehand, whether or not — in a pre-participation physical, whether they're really advised to play that sport. For example, when we do an examination on college athletes before the season, if they've had recent surgery, we have an idea of what level of play they can participate in at that point.
Host: Yeah, I can see knowing athletes on an individual level how that would be very beneficial. What about kids playing in multiple sports with overlapping seasons or sports with extended seasons? This has to increase injury risk.
Dr. Kraushaar: Oh, that has a very strong impact on athletes. The problem we have is that kids play all 12 months per year, and they really need at least 2 months of the year to recover from a particular sport. I prefer 3 or 4 months of recovery from a sport instead of playing the sport all year long. Recovery from a sport doesn't necessarily mean doing nothing.
There are some sports that overlap with each other, and you shouldn't do one season after another. For example, soccer and lacrosse are both running sports that involve position on the field that is very similar, whereas if a person swims one season and plays a running sport in another season, they're using different types of muscles, so they're not overusing the same muscle groups.
Host: Well, that makes sense. Making sure your child plays a variety of sports that utilize different muscle groups. That's a good way to prevent those overuse injuries. Are there other ways parents can help prevent injuries, Dr. Kraushaar?
Dr. Kraushaar: One thing that a parent needs to be realistic about with their youngsters' level of play and their abilities. We have some parents who just push their kids so hard. They'll hire a professional athlete to teach their kid how to throw, or run, or hit like a professional athlete at the age of 12. You need to be realistic about the students' body ability and not push them beyond their capacities just because they want their kid to be the very best for a scholarship or for some other form of success.
Host: Right, so let me ask you this then. You mentioned earlier kids play sports, and kids are going to get injured. When it comes to treating minor injuries at home like icing and heat, when is that appropriate? We hear a lot about RICE, Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. Can you shed some light on that for us?
Dr. Kraushaar: Let's work backward. Elevation is nice if it's your ankle, but it's very hard to elevate your shoulder or your elbow. Elevation is good for an acute problem that's down on the wrist or the ankle, but really, probably the least important of those.
Compression can be dangerous if a person wraps a dressing around too hard. A little ACE bandage wrapping over a swollen area such as an ankle or a wrist might be okay. Compression helps to get the fluid out.
Ice — well, without freezing the skin, ice is nice in the acute period. I like ice within the first 48 hours after an injury — certainly, the closer to the time of the injury, the better. The intention of ice is to decrease blood flow that causes swelling in that area, but honestly, underneath the skin, it's very hard to really decrease blood flow much by throwing some ice on the surface. It feels good, and it might help a small amount, but real studies proving that ice helps to prevent swelling haven't been demonstrated.
As far as heat goes, I like the expression that ice is good on joints and heat is good on muscles.
Host: Well, you gave us some good guidelines there, and that's a good rule of thumb, ice for joints, heat for muscles. At what point is it time to see the doctor if those methods aren't working?
Dr. Kraushaar: In the lower extremity — in the leg, if somebody is seeing their athlete limping and not able to perform a sport, I think it's time to at least get off the field and stop participating. I don't like when parents watch their child on the field knowing that they're already injured and they're limping, and they're not keeping up. And by the way, what team really wants one of their players not able to keep up with the rest of the team during a competition?
As far as when to see a doctor, it's really a persistence of a problem would matter. In other words, if it doesn't get better rather quickly. The severity of the problem, in other words, it really hurts a lot, and they're crying or complaining, or visibly changing how they use a limb. I have a low threshold for a patient to go to the doctor to see a wrist. A fall on an outstretched arm is very commonly a wrist fracture, and I can't tell you how many times I've seen a youngster with open growth plates where the parents thought for a week that it was just a sprain, and they come back to me with an X-ray and we find that it was a broken wrist. It's really common. Especially wrists and ankles, I like to see them early.
When a knee blows up after a sports injury, that should be seen by a doctor because an acutely swollen knee after a sports injury can be a fracture or a ligament or a meniscal cartilage tear. Of course, there are some obvious times, like a dislocated shoulder, where you just know it's out of place, an I'm sure that speaks for itself.
Host: You've given a lot of great information, Dr. Kraushaar. If you could wrap it up for us, what's your best advice for parents as far as youth sports safety?
Dr. Kraushaar: Knowing your child and knowing their ability level, and pushing them gradually instead of forcefully through their progress in sports is good. I don't like the idea of sudden starts and sudden stops to a sport. When a person comes on in the very beginning of the season — for example, they should treat it as that and do a warmup. And also, even during sports competitions and practices, I do believe in truly warming up. Get the body warmer, getting adjusted and not just going on the field or the course of any sport cold. They really need to be awake, and moving, and warmed up before getting going.
Host: Well, Dr. Kraushaar, thank you for your time. For more information, or to get connected with one of our providers, go to MontefioreNyack.org/Joint-Replacement, that's MontefioreNyack.org/Joint-Replacement. If you found this Podcast helpful, please share on your social channels, and be sure to check back soon for our next episode. This is the Health Talk Podcast for Montefiore Nyack Hospital. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to your Podcasts. I'm Bill Klaproth. Thanks for listening.
Sports Medicine and Youth Sports Safety Tips
Bill Klaproth (Host): From ankle sprains to hamstring strains, from jammed fingers to injuries that linger, kids playing sports face a variety of injuries, so how does Sports Medicine help treat and prevent injuries? Let's find out, with Dr. Barry Kraushaar, an Orthopedic Surgeon at the Joint Replacement Center at Montefiore Nyack Hospital.
This is the Health Talk Podcast from Montefiore Nyack Hospital. I'm Bill Klaproth. Dr. Kraushaar, let's start with this: what role does Sports Medicine play when it comes to youth sports? I'm thinking certainly, in terms of treatment, but what about prevention, as well?
Dr. Barry Kraushaar (Guest): Certainly, when a person becomes injured, a Sports Medicine specialist needs to understand the nature of the injury, the nature of the sport, and what the expectations are of the athletes. We also serve as advisors to teams. We serve as advisors to the athletic trainers and to the team coaches. We serve as advisors to the parents sometimes. Sometimes, we give lectures to groups that are coming together before the season so we can prepare people for what they should do, give them an idea of some exercises that are beneficial, and some that they should avoid.
Host: As an advisor in that role, it's mainly prevention at that point?
Dr. Kraushaar: Well, yes, of course. You can't prevent a lot of injuries that occur on the field, but we do help to give people some advice as to what kind of exercises might be best. If we get to know an individual athlete ahead of time then we might get to know whether they are truly prepared for a sport or whether they need to be playing a less aggressive role in the sport, we have an idea. Particularly, if somebody is coming off of a history of injuries from beforehand, whether or not — in a pre-participation physical, whether they're really advised to play that sport. For example, when we do an examination on college athletes before the season, if they've had recent surgery, we have an idea of what level of play they can participate in at that point.
Host: Yeah, I can see knowing athletes on an individual level how that would be very beneficial. What about kids playing in multiple sports with overlapping seasons or sports with extended seasons? This has to increase injury risk.
Dr. Kraushaar: Oh, that has a very strong impact on athletes. The problem we have is that kids play all 12 months per year, and they really need at least 2 months of the year to recover from a particular sport. I prefer 3 or 4 months of recovery from a sport instead of playing the sport all year long. Recovery from a sport doesn't necessarily mean doing nothing.
There are some sports that overlap with each other, and you shouldn't do one season after another. For example, soccer and lacrosse are both running sports that involve position on the field that is very similar, whereas if a person swims one season and plays a running sport in another season, they're using different types of muscles, so they're not overusing the same muscle groups.
Host: Well, that makes sense. Making sure your child plays a variety of sports that utilize different muscle groups. That's a good way to prevent those overuse injuries. Are there other ways parents can help prevent injuries, Dr. Kraushaar?
Dr. Kraushaar: One thing that a parent needs to be realistic about with their youngsters' level of play and their abilities. We have some parents who just push their kids so hard. They'll hire a professional athlete to teach their kid how to throw, or run, or hit like a professional athlete at the age of 12. You need to be realistic about the students' body ability and not push them beyond their capacities just because they want their kid to be the very best for a scholarship or for some other form of success.
Host: Right, so let me ask you this then. You mentioned earlier kids play sports, and kids are going to get injured. When it comes to treating minor injuries at home like icing and heat, when is that appropriate? We hear a lot about RICE, Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. Can you shed some light on that for us?
Dr. Kraushaar: Let's work backward. Elevation is nice if it's your ankle, but it's very hard to elevate your shoulder or your elbow. Elevation is good for an acute problem that's down on the wrist or the ankle, but really, probably the least important of those.
Compression can be dangerous if a person wraps a dressing around too hard. A little ACE bandage wrapping over a swollen area such as an ankle or a wrist might be okay. Compression helps to get the fluid out.
Ice — well, without freezing the skin, ice is nice in the acute period. I like ice within the first 48 hours after an injury — certainly, the closer to the time of the injury, the better. The intention of ice is to decrease blood flow that causes swelling in that area, but honestly, underneath the skin, it's very hard to really decrease blood flow much by throwing some ice on the surface. It feels good, and it might help a small amount, but real studies proving that ice helps to prevent swelling haven't been demonstrated.
As far as heat goes, I like the expression that ice is good on joints and heat is good on muscles.
Host: Well, you gave us some good guidelines there, and that's a good rule of thumb, ice for joints, heat for muscles. At what point is it time to see the doctor if those methods aren't working?
Dr. Kraushaar: In the lower extremity — in the leg, if somebody is seeing their athlete limping and not able to perform a sport, I think it's time to at least get off the field and stop participating. I don't like when parents watch their child on the field knowing that they're already injured and they're limping, and they're not keeping up. And by the way, what team really wants one of their players not able to keep up with the rest of the team during a competition?
As far as when to see a doctor, it's really a persistence of a problem would matter. In other words, if it doesn't get better rather quickly. The severity of the problem, in other words, it really hurts a lot, and they're crying or complaining, or visibly changing how they use a limb. I have a low threshold for a patient to go to the doctor to see a wrist. A fall on an outstretched arm is very commonly a wrist fracture, and I can't tell you how many times I've seen a youngster with open growth plates where the parents thought for a week that it was just a sprain, and they come back to me with an X-ray and we find that it was a broken wrist. It's really common. Especially wrists and ankles, I like to see them early.
When a knee blows up after a sports injury, that should be seen by a doctor because an acutely swollen knee after a sports injury can be a fracture or a ligament or a meniscal cartilage tear. Of course, there are some obvious times, like a dislocated shoulder, where you just know it's out of place, an I'm sure that speaks for itself.
Host: You've given a lot of great information, Dr. Kraushaar. If you could wrap it up for us, what's your best advice for parents as far as youth sports safety?
Dr. Kraushaar: Knowing your child and knowing their ability level, and pushing them gradually instead of forcefully through their progress in sports is good. I don't like the idea of sudden starts and sudden stops to a sport. When a person comes on in the very beginning of the season — for example, they should treat it as that and do a warmup. And also, even during sports competitions and practices, I do believe in truly warming up. Get the body warmer, getting adjusted and not just going on the field or the course of any sport cold. They really need to be awake, and moving, and warmed up before getting going.
Host: Well, Dr. Kraushaar, thank you for your time. For more information, or to get connected with one of our providers, go to MontefioreNyack.org/Joint-Replacement, that's MontefioreNyack.org/Joint-Replacement. If you found this Podcast helpful, please share on your social channels, and be sure to check back soon for our next episode. This is the Health Talk Podcast for Montefiore Nyack Hospital. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to your Podcasts. I'm Bill Klaproth. Thanks for listening.