Knowing When to Stop

In today’s world I think it is safe to say that sports are a big part of many people’s lives. Those people can range from 6 years old to 100 years old. According to Biber, from “ProQuest,” in “Overuse Injuries in Youth Sports: Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Sports?” he says  “Approximately 45 million children 6 to 18 years participate in some form of organized athletics.”  And of those 45 million children and teens that play, 3 million of them will face some type of injury. In “Prevention of Sports Injuries,” by Albert C. Hergenroeder, from “AAP News & Journals Gateway,” he says “There are ∼3 million annual injuries incurred during sports participation among children and adolescents in the United States, with injury defined as one that causes time lost from sports participation.” The number of injuries from youth sports today is only rising due to the physical demand from the game. As the children get older the level of difficulty increases and so does the risk for injuries. It has been said in “Sports Injuries Statistics,” from Stanford Children Health, by National SAFE KIDS Campaign and the American Academy of Pediatrics that “Sports-related injury severity increases with age.”

Growing up many children, starting around the age 6, are introduced to the idea of playing sports. At a young age that sounds very exciting to most kids, and the excitement only increases as they get older. As they grow through playing these sports so does their love and passion.This is when the sport starts to get dangerous because their willingness to do whatever it takes to win starts to rise. As their love grows so do the number of more serious injuries. The most serious injury that a lot of younger children, even some pre-teens face is growth plate injuries. Growth plate injuries are very serious for young children because they can cause growth disturbance which can cause many problems in the future. In the article “Long-term health outcomes of youth sports injuries,” from “BMJ Journals,” by N. Maffulli, she says “ In a previous systematic review on the frequency and characteristics of sports-related growth plate injuries affecting children and youth, we found that 38.3% of acute cases were sport related and among these 14.9% were associated with growth disturbance.” Growth disturbance is what leads to a lot of long term problems that adults who played sports at a younger age may face. When people think of growth disturbance they think of height, but that is often just a small factor. Growth disturbance often means bones, joints, and muscles, which is what helps our body perform the natural functions that are needed.

 Along with growth disturbance injuries, the other most common injury is overuse injuries. As said in “Overuse Injuries in Youth Sports: Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Sports?” from “ProQuest,” by Biber, “Nearly half of all injuries evaluated in pediatric sports medicine are associated with overuse…Overuse injuries are chronic injuries that occur with repetitive stress on the musculoskeletal system over the course of time without allowing adequate recovery” Overuse injuries are subtle and usually occur overtime, making them more challenging to treat, if treatable at all. They also usually come with longer lasting symptoms that could last years after happening. People usually get these injuries from not listening to their bodies when they get injured and just keep pushing. According to the article “What Happens If You Keep Playing Sports When You’re Injured?,” from Teens Health from Nemours, Sarah Gibson says “ playing through a sports injury can cause damage that keeps you on the bench longer. Playing through an injury may even end your sports career entirely.” 

When we are young our bodies have the ability to heal faster, and makeup for the damage that we tend to put ourselves through. The phrase “the fountain of youth,” is not just a phrase but is often right. Doctors will often say to patients when they are young coming in with an injury or sickness that age is on their side. I’ve also heard doctors say it is better to get the injuries out of the way when you are a child because as you get older they might become harder to overcome. But what about the injuries that never seem to heal and only get worse when you are older. These injuries are the ones suffered from overuse injuries, and growth disturbances. This is why it is so important to listen to your body. If listening to your body means not playing sports then that might be a price you have to pay. Why pay the price of not being able to pick up your grandchild, do gardening outside your house, or playing with your dog, because these are the simple things that those common injuries can burden adults, and elderly people if faced with them. 

In conclusion, playing sports is a part of life, a way of life, and a passion to some people. The playing of sports has been around for many years and will go on to be played for many more. Along with that comes the inevitable injuries. It is not to say that the injuries aren’t going to happen when playing sports but if they can be stopped from not playing them then that is a matter that all children and teens should have to take when the healthiness of your future is on the line. These overuse injuries that cause growth disturbances seriously affect how many people grow to live their lives and one shouldn’t have to live it any decreased kind of way just from playing sports as a child.

Refrences

Hergenroeder, A. C. (1998, June 1).Prevention of Sports Injuries. Retrieved April 29, 2020

Biber, Rachel, MD; Gregory, Andrew (2010, May). Overuse Injuries in Youth Sports: Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Sports?’. Retrieved April 28, 2020

default –Stanford Children’s Health. (n.d.). Retrieved April 5, 2020

Gibson, S. R. (Ed.). (2014, June). What Happens If You Keep Playing Sports When You’re Injured? (for Teens)– Nemours KidsHealth. Retrieved April 5, 2020