Sacred Heart - Inspiring Health

FOR YOUNG ATHLETES, PROPER REST AND RECOVERY ARE AS IMPORTANT AS BEING ACTIVE. AT JUST 13 years old, Mikkyla Worthing is already too familiar with knee pain. The Eau Claire South Middle School athlete participates in three sports. She has games, meets, or practices that last 90 minutes, four times a week. Repetitive drills on the basketball court, constant switchbacks in soccer, and the pounding of joints during cross-country recently began to take a toll on her body. Mikkyla suffered from overuse, a typical culprit when it comes to kids and sports, says Michael Erickson, MD, doctor of physical therapy at Centers for Rehabilitation Services, a service line of HSHS Sacred Heart and St. Joseph's hospitals. "Looking back, I realized that I wasn't taking time to reduce or prevent the pain," Mikkyla says. "I would feel muscle soreness during or after practices or games, but would choose to ignore it." When it got to be too much, she went to HSHS St. Joseph's for rehabilitation therapy, where she met Dr. Erickson. He suggested the Athletes in Motion program, which helps student athletes overcome improper movement mechanics and muscle imbalances that can lead to overuse injuries like the one suffered by Mikkyla. PRACTICE DOESN'T ALWAYS MAKE PERFECT Dr. Erickson says Mikkyla's situation has become the rule, not the exception. "It's important to recognize that a lot of these kids have been playing sports for long periods of time," he says. "Too much time on the court in youth can lead to overuse injuries." The "practice makes perfect" theory shouldn't be taken literally, Dr. Erickson says. Some practice is good, but too much probably won't lead to perfection—and might cause injury. An athlete training for one particular sport should max out at 16 hours a week. Ten hours of practice a week is a good goal, he says. Sixteen could cause fatigue and body breakdown. Another way to cut down on injuries is to play many different sports. Athletes use certain muscles for each sport. If students play multiple sports throughout the year, instead of one sport year-round, the risk of injury decreases, Dr. Erickson says. "Kids are still developing," he says. "Growth plates, muscles, and tendons are adapting. When you stress the muscles and tendons, they adapt to the overload of stress and it causes injuries. Bones start to pull apart from the muscles." Tendons attach muscles to bones. Muscles typically do OK under a bit of stress, but the tendons get irritated and it could lead to changes in that tendon if growth plates aren't closed yet, he says. Dr. Erickson says he sees "jumper's knee"—a bony prominence below the kneecap that causes pain—often with middle and high school athletes. Shoulder and elbow overuse is also prevalent, depending on the sport. Coaches are typically educated about overuse, but Dr. Erickson says parents need to take an inventory and find out how their children's bodies are feeling from time to time. "At any age, if the body is not feeling right, it is time for the athlete and parent to step back," he says. "As a physical therapist, I use certain screening tools that help look at the entire body. We make sure the foot through the head is moving all in conjunction. Deficiencies in certain areas can cause pain as well." SIDELINES on the Keeping Overuse Injuries To learn more about the Athletes in Motion program at HSHS St. Joseph's, call 715.717.4338, or visit bit.ly/stjoeschipfalls-athletesinmotion. 1 4 I N S P I R I N G H E A LT H

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