‘Mixin’ It Up’ Does Wonders for Kids in Sports
Fall and winter sports season is upon us! Boys are playing football. Girls are doing their cheer routines at games.
Cross-country, field hockey, tennis, and volleyball players are in full swing at high schools across the country.
While kids are eager to jump right into these activities, injuries this time of year increase.
Why Do More Sports Injuries Occur in the Fall and Winter?
- Sudden increases in activity level
- Unpredictable weather and changes in playing surface. Shifting weather patterns are another factor that contributes to sports injuries in the fall and winter.
- Muscle fatigue – During the summer months, kids move freely. Suddenly, when school starts, students are cramped into an uncomfortable school desk for eight hours a day. The hips remain flexed at 90-degrees, and the brain focuses on keeping the hip flexors, hamstrings, and spinal erectors engaged to maintain a sitting position. Unfortunately, these are the opposite muscles the body needs to prevent common sports injuries.
What Are the Most Common Fall and Winter Sports Injuries and How Are They Prevented?
Slowly ramping up activity levels over the course of a few months leading into preseason can minimize the risk significantly.
Students should spend at least 10 minutes warming up every practice and devote twice as long to end-of-practice stretches to prevent injuries including:
- Tendon injuries
- Muscle pulls
- Stress Fractures
Middle-school-age children come in with growth plate injuries. A growth plate injury occurs at either end of the leg bone.
A damaged growth plate may lead to arthritis, crooked bones, or limbs that do not grow long enough — although these circumstances are rare. More often than not, kids rebound from a growth plate injury without any further consequences.
To prevent these injuries, be sure you oversee your child’s strength training to ensure he or she is not lifting too much weight too fast. You also want to see that your child is using the proper form.
Playing in extreme cold, certain medications, neurological disorders, metabolic diseases, and genetic factors are believed to all play a role in the development of growth plate injuries as well. It is important to speak with a sports medicine professional to determine whether your child may be at risk for a growth plate injury.
When high school athletes begin to get tired, they get sloppy. Fatigue is the number one factor in ankle sprains. Teach your child to recognize signs of fatigue so he or she can request a break if the coach doesn’t see it.
Some of these early signals may include some or all of the following symptoms:
- Inconsistent performance
- Decreased focus
- Shortness of breath
- Muscle twitches
- Depression or irritability
- Severe thirst
- Generalized weakness
- Nausea
- Muscle cramps
- Dizziness
- Headaches
According to Dr. Downer, “Mix it up, don’t just play one sport. Instead be diverse and try different types of sporting activities throughout the year. Staying active keeps you well-conditioned and less likely to experience an injury.”
If you believe you are suffering from a sports-related injury and need specialized orthopedic care, the orthopedic surgeons at OSS provide excellent treatment options for your injury. Please feel free to contact OSS at (206) 633-8100 to schedule an appointment.
Seattle Seahawks Injury Status
Football season is moving right along and our beloved Seattle Seahawks are 6-3 overall; ranking 10th in offense and 3rd in defense. There are several injuries on this season’s roster, including:
Coach Pete Carroll has cleared some of these players to return to the field but others are questionable for the rest of the NFL season. Of note, Zach Miller had undergone surgery and is on the injury reserve list and is not playing while Marcus Burley’s hamstring injury has sidelined him from playing for a questionable amount of time.
“With such devastating injuries to the squad up and down the line up, it reiterates the importance of preparation to prevent injury,” states Dr. Ruhlman.
The treatment protocol for football injuries varies and can range from basic RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) to surgery, with several options in between.
For all of these injuries, RICE can be improved with active cold and compression therapies to help speed up the healing process for injuries.
Cold compression therapy can also be used after surgery to help speed up the recovery process.
OSS hopes that all these players recover from their injuries and wish the Seattle Seahawks a great rest-of-the-season.
If you believe you are suffering from a sports-related injury and need specialized orthopedic care, the orthopedic surgeons at OSS provide excellent treatment options for your injury.
Operative Treatment for Clavicle Fractures (Broken Collarbone)
Operative Treatment for Clavicle Fractures (Broken Collarbone)
Clavicle fractures are often caused by a direct blow to the shoulder. In sports, it usually occurs when an athlete is tackled in a football game, falls of a bicycle, or gets body-checked into the plexi-glass of an ice rink. It can also happen during a fall onto the shoulder or a car collision, a fall onto an outstretched arm, or in childbirth, when the baby is passing through the birth canal.
The clavicle is a long bone and most breaks occur in the middle of it. Occasionally, the bone will break where it attaches at the ribcage or shoulder blade.
Symptoms
Clavicle fractures can be very painful and may make it hard to move your arm.
Additional symptoms include:
- Sagging shoulder (down and forward)
- Inability to lift the arm because of pain
- A grinding sensation if an attempt is made to raise the arm
- A deformity or “bump” over the break
- Bruising, swelling, and/or tenderness over the collarbone
Evaluation by an OSS physician
In order to pinpoint the location and severity of the break, your OSS physician will order an x-ray. X-rays of the entire shoulder will often be done to check for additional injuries. If other bones are broken, your doctor may order a computed tomography (CT or CAT) scan to see the fractures in better detail.
If your bones are out of place (displaced), your OSS physician may recommend surgery. Surgery can align the bones exactly and hold them in good position while they heal. This can improve shoulder strength when you have recovered, if displacement is significant. A recent large study showed improvement in function with operative repair when the fracture is significantly displaced.
The use of Plates and Screws
During this operation, the bone fragments are first repositioned into their normal alignment, and then held in place with special screws and/or by attaching metal plates to the outer surface of the bone. Newer locking plates are contoured to give significant strength while minimizing the prominence of the plate. Many patients notice immediate improvement in the disturbing bone movement right after surgery.
After surgery, you may notice a small patch of numb skin below the incision. This numbness will become less noticeable with time. Because there is not a lot of fat over the collarbone, you may be able to feel the plate through your skin. It is important to start full range of motion soon after surgery.
Plates and screws are sometimes removed after the bone has healed, but that is up to the patient’s discretion. This is a much smaller procedure with little down time, usually 4-6 months after the original surgery.
(A) The clavicle is broken in more than one place and the fragments are severely out of alignment. (B)The fractured pieces are held in place by a combination of plates and screws.
Rehabilitation
Specific exercises will help restore movement and strengthen your shoulder. Your OSS physician may provide you with a home therapy plan or suggest that you work with a physical therapist.
Therapy programs typically start with gentle motion exercises. Your OSS physician will gradually add strengthening exercises to your program as your fracture heals.
Although it is a slow process, following your physical therapy plan is an important factor in returning to all the activities you enjoy.
Surgical Complications
People who use nicotine, have diabetes, or are elderly are at a higher risk for complications during and after surgery. They are also more likely to have problems with wound and bone healing. Be sure to talk with your OSS physician about the risks and benefits of surgery for your clavicle fracture.
There are risks associated with any surgery, including:
- Infection
- Bleeding
- Pain
- Blood clots in your leg
- Damage to blood vessels or nerves
- Nausea
The risks specific to surgery for collarbone fractures include:
- Difficulty with bone healing
- Injury to surrounding vessels/organs (rare)
- Hardware irritation
Outcome
Whether your treatment involves surgery or non-surgical treatment, it can take several months for your collarbone to heal. It may take longer in diabetics or people who nicotine.
Most people return to regular activities within 3 months of their injury. Your OSS physician will tell you when your injury is stable enough to do so. Returning to regular activities or lifting with your arm before your doctor advises may cause your fracture fragments to move or your hardware to break. This may require you to start your treatment from the beginning.
Once your fracture has completely healed, you can safely return to sports and daily activities.
What to discuss with your OSS Surgeon
- When will I be able to start using my arm?
- When can I return to work?
- Do I have any specific risks for not doing well?
- If I have surgery, what are the risks and benefits and how long will I be in the hospital?
- If I do not have surgery what are the risks and benefits?
- Is my bone weak?
- Should I be taking calcium and Vitamin D?
If you would like more information about clavicle surgery, call Orthopedic Specialists of Seattle (206) 633-8100 to schedule an appointment with an OSS surgeon.
Common Swimming Injury – Swimmer’s Shoulder
Swimming is a sport in which there is a great diversity among participants. There are both recreational and competitive swimmers, ranging in age from preschool through college.
Although the lack of impact in swimming makes it a perfect choice for avoiding lower-body injuries, the intense involvement of upper-body muscles makes overuse injuries a real possibility.
The most common swimming-related injury is swimmer’s shoulder, shoulder pain usually caused by rotator cuff tendonitis. Many cases of swimmer’s shoulder can be successfully treated through physical therapy.
For competitive athletes, rotator cuff surgery may be recommended if shoulder pain continues after 6 months of guided rest and rehabilitation.
Signs and Symptoms of Swimmer’s Shoulder
- Shoulder pain while swimming freestyle
- A forward shoulder slouch while seated
- Underdeveloped posterior shoulder musculature
- A mild winging on the affected side’s left scapula
- Tenderness in the acromioclavicular joint and coracoid process in the impingement area
- Tenderness in the affected side’s bicep tendon and supraspinatus tendon
- A full range of motion in all planes
- Strength is slightly decreased in the supraspinatus and infraspinatus
- Full strength in the internal rotators, arm extensors, and flexors
- Moderate posterior and anterior laxity in both shoulders
- A bilateral sulcus sign
- Impingement and adduction-compression tests on the affected side were positive
- An apprehension test on the affected side was negative
Swimming Safety and Injury Prevention
According to Dr. Franklin, “Proper warm up, stretching, technique and conditioning are crucial in preventing tendonitis and overuse injuries in swimmers.”
- Learning proper technique goes a long way toward preventing injuries; if you’re just starting out, schedule some sessions with a swimming coach.
- Remember to warm up and stretch before every swim, giving particular attention to your shoulders.
- A strength-training program can help build up the muscles around the shoulder and upper back; ask a physical therapist or personal trainer if you need help creating a routine.
If you believe you are suffering from swimmer’s shoulder or swimming-related injury and need specialized orthopedic care, the orthopedic surgeons at OSS provide excellent treatment options for your injury. Please feel free to contact OSS at (206) 633-8100 to schedule an appointment.