August 15, 2008

(Media-Newswire.com) - CINCINNATI—“It’s that time of year again,” says Keith Kenter, MD, and he’s not talking about back-to-school shopping.

What he’s referring to is the increased number of children and young adults he sees in the clinic due to injuries as a result of overtraining for fall sports programs.

Millions of children and young adults are now training for fall athletics programs, some as early as kindergarten. With school sports, club sports, select and recreational teams, Kenter says “it’s become easier to identify injury patterns” inherent to overtraining. Shin splints, stress fractures and muscle swelling in the lower extremities are historically associated with preparation for football, soccer, cross country and volleyball season. 

That line is starting to blur, however, as the seasonal aspect of youth athletics is changing. While it was once popular to participate in a variety of sports, most young athletes now stick with the same sport year round, which can lead to overtraining and repetitive use injuries.

Read on...