Today, 30 million U.S. children are getting in the game. Unfortunately, every year a growing number - 3.5 million children under the age of 14 - need medical care for sports injuries.

The popularity of high school sports is at an all-time high, with more than 7.3 million student athletes. This group accounts for 2 million injuries, 500,000 docor visits and 30,000 hospitalizations every year, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

"Overuse injuries are responsible for about half of all sports injuries sustained by middle and high school students," says Paul M. Saluan, MD, a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon at Cleveland Clinics Sports Health.

Contributing to the spike in injuries, he says, are early specialization in specific sports, immature bones, insufficient rest/recovery after an injury and poor training methods and/or conditioning.

How to STOP Sports Injuries in Children
Saluan, a delegate for the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, is assisting with its national campaign, STOP(Stop Trauma and Overuse Prevention), which launched in 2010.

"This program not only focused on the injury reduction. It highlights how playing safe and aware can lengthen a child's athletic career, improve teamwork, reduce obesity rates and create lifelong love of exercise and healthy activity," he says.

The cost of caring for injured young athletes exceeds $2.5 billion a year in the U.S.
Perhaps of the greater concern to parents, teachers and educators are:

• Lowered academic performance
• Increased risks for depression and smoking
• Loss of sports participation and resultant inactivity
• Potential for future osteoarthritis and associated health issues, including obesity

To prevent injury, Saluan advises parents to encourage kids to remain active during the off-season. De-conditioning is a common thread running through all sports-specific injuries because overuse injuries develop when new sports require different repetitive activities.

However, he advises against nonstop training, noting that most kids don't need to be pushed to train year-round in a single sport. They just need to play. "Children will know when they've been active enough," Saluam says.

NO NEED FOR A SEPARTE SPORTS PHYSICAL...Your pediatrician or family physician can clear your child to play sports during an annual physical. The Dr. will fill out the sports pre-participation form (good all year) and provide valuable information on growth, development and healthy behavior.

"Kids also benefit from rotating through different sports to discover which ones they like, rather than being forced to remain in one. Injuries result when kids are not fully engaged or are unwilling participants in a sport."

HOW TO RESPOND TO ATHLETIC INJURIES

When children get injured during a game, they should be seen immediately if they have swelling or difficulty using an injured limb that lasts longer than one would expect for a minor injury. Where to go depends upon the severity of the injury, Saluan says.

Emergency Department: Patients with head or facial injuries should go straight to the nearest ED. Also, those with significant deformity or a body part should be seen in an ED.

Same-Day Emergency care: If pain is significant and the child can't walk or use an injured limb, or develops immediate joint swelling, make sure he or she is seen that day.

Schedule Dr.'s visit: If a child develops chronic, nagging pain despite rest, ice and use of anti-inflammatories and pain relievers, make an appointment with your pediatrician or family Dr. Your Dr. will monitor your child's progress as he or she heals. In some cases, your child may be referred to a pediatric orthopaedic sports specialist.

For more information contact the Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital: 1-800-223-2273 ext. 45437

At Kodiak Nutrition we are dedicated to ensuring product safety for youth athletes and families formulated with highest quality ingredients to enhance the body's natural recovery process in a Certified Drug Free Nutrition Line. A sample of the batch from manufacturing this product was analyzed for substances banned by sport. No substances were found above the detection limits from the Banned Substance Control Group. Results you can feel, Quality you can Trust!

A Kind Thank you from our small staff at Kodiak Nutrition...

We want to take a moment to say how awesome we think you are.

Why? We know you work hard for your money and its people like you that allow us to keep Kodiak Nutrition running for everyone to experience the difference quality nutrition can make in your life. For that, we promise to work just as hard to keep making Kodiak Nutrition the easiest, fastest, safest and most affordable way for your family to experience better health. From our Families to yours...Thanks!