Women specializing in the sport of lacrosse on Long Island, NY.

Specialization in Young Athletes Can Lead to Overuse Injuries

By Arden Smith DPM FACFAS, FACFAOM

Today’s epidemic of overuse injuries due to specialization affects both lower and upper extremities, across the board, in all sports at all ages.

Overuse injuries

As the world of youth sports has grown dramatically, so have these injury problems. Overuse injuries cause a significant loss of time off the field, but more importantly, they threaten future sports participation which could inadvertently lead to increased obesity.

These young athletes are at increased risk because their growing bones are less resilient to stress, and children’s awareness of symptoms as signs of injury is limited.

Young woman athlete following conditioning program for overuse injuries from Advanced Foot Care on Long Island, NY.

Conditioning

If specialization is the decision, then it is important to include “off-sport conditioning” that helps to develop the overall athlete and strengthen against these repetitive motion injuries. The award-winning, expert podiatrists at Advanced Podiatry of Manhasset, Huntington, Coram, Woodbury, Mineola, Williston Park, Maspeth and Ronkonkoma stress strengthening the opposites and stabilizers. In other words, condition the muscles and tendons that help work against those repetitive motions. Athletic trainers, physical therapists, and personal trainers can help devise these programs. This kind of training is also helpful for multiple-sport athletes. 

If you are concerned about a potential overuse injury in your child athlete, please call one of our Advanced Podiatry offices, and one of our award-winning expert podiatrists will evaluate your child and discuss a treatment strategy with you and your young athlete.

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