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The Mackie Report

By Mackie Shilstone

Avoiding Athletic Injuries

We are now into the summer and, with our children out of school, many of them will take part in athletic activities in their free time. High school football teams go through training and conditioning programs in preparation for their fall schedules. Other sports, such as baseball, volleyball, tennis, swimming and golf are popular at this time of year as well.

With so many of our young people engaged in sports, practice drills and other types of conditioning activities over the summer, injuries are more common than at most other times of the year. Some are unpreventable, such as those that occur during collisions or the types of accidents that happen on the playing or practice field. Others may be avoided if proper precautions are taken and warning signs are heeded.

Among those warning signs is pain. For years, there has been a popular saying that many people have come to accept: 'No pain, no gain.' According to Dr. Charles P. Murphy, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon, 'This is a false statement. Pain is a warning sign that the body needs rest. Young athletes should not play when they are in pain.'

Dr. Luis M. Espinoza, a sports orthopedic surgeon, says some of the most common injuries his Orthopedic Center treats are arm- and shoulder-related ailments suffered by baseball pitchers and football quarterbacks. Many of these injuries involve the rotator cuff, a group of four muscles that attach to the shoulder blade and wrap around the shoulder joint. Together, the rotator cuff muscles help guide the shoulder through many motions, and they also lend stability to the joint. In part due to the rotator cuff, the shoulder joint can move and turn through a wider range than any other joint in the body. This allows us to perform an amazing variety of tasks with our arms. Baseball pitchers are able to throw many types of pitches because of the arm's ability to bend so many different ways. The ends of the rotator cuff muscles form tendons that attach to the arm bone (humerus).

Continued hard throwing and/or continuous twisting of the arm while throwing may lead to a torn rotator cuff tendon or a torn labrum cartilage. This type of injury can make even the most routine activities difficult and painful. In extreme cases, it has ended careers of Major League pitchers, professional football quarterbacks, tennis players and other professional athletes.

Young athletes, in particular, should be careful not to overwork this durable but ultimately fragile group of muscles, Dr. Espinoza advises. He suggests that athletes whose sport demands intensive usage of the arms take part in strengthening and stretching exercises for the shoulders. By strengthening the arms and shoulders, he says, injuries to the rotator cuff should be less frequent.

Dr. Thomas R. Lyons adds that volleyball and tennis players and swimmers also are vulnerable to rotator cuff and labral tears if they don't take proper precautions or are not in peak condition. Numbness of an extremity or swelling of any joint is a symptom that something is wrong, and these warning signs should be heeded, Dr. Lyons says. Medical advice should be sought immediately if these symptoms appear.

Drs. Murphy, Lyons, and Espinoza work on treatment and rehabilitation programs with members of the Houston Astros' Class AAA minor league baseball team, the New Orleans Zephyrs. The Orthopedic Center for Sports Medicine, where they practice, is conveniently located near Zephyr Stadium in Metairie.

There are other mishaps that can happen during hot, humid weather. These include dehydration and overexposure to the sun. People who manage supervised activities such as football practice are required to provide water and/or sports drinks for the athletes at regular intervals. Coaches and the athletes themselves need to carefully monitor hydration levels and not go too long without replenishing body fluids lost through perspiration. They also need to be careful about staying out in the direct sun too long. Dr. Murphy advises young people who are on certain types of medication to get their doctor's approval before engaging in strenuous activities.

That would be my advice as well. Parents especially should keep an eye on their children if they take part in unsupervised outdoor activities in the summer heat. They need to make sure their kids have adequate supplies of fluid-replacing beverages with them and that they apply a strong sunscreen to parts of their bodies that will be exposed to the sun's rays.

This is a great time of year for kids to get their physical exercise and stay in shape. It's up to us, their coaches and parents, to help make it as safe, comfortable and injury-free as possible for them.

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