Patient Information Resources


Long Island Spine Specialists, P.C.
763 Larkfield Road
2nd Floor
Commack, NY 11725
Ph: (631) 462-2225
Fax: (631) 462-2240






Child Orthopedics
General
Pain Management
Spine - Cervical
Spine - General
Spine - Lumbar
Spine - Thoracic

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My 13-year-old son is growing like a weed. Besides growing pains, he seems to be accident-prone. First he had Osgood's disease. Now he has an injured hamstring muscle. Is there any way to help prevent some of these problems? He's very athletic so all these injuries took us by surprise.

Many young sports athletes are tripped up by their own skeletal system. Traumatic and overuse injuries affecting the physes (growth plates) can result in various injuries. The main reason is an immature skeletal system. The growth plates provide sites of injury that don't occur in older, fully mature teens and adults. These growth plates leave space open for the bone to continue growing until the child reaches his or her full height. Until then, shear forces, traction, and the repeated stress of sports activities can cause damage to these areas of growth. Sometimes the bones get compressed and start to shorten. This happens in the forearms of gymnasts who put weight through their hands and wrists. In other cases, the growth plate actually widens under stress. This can have the opposite effect of making one limb longer than the other. It's also possible to put so much force on the tendon as it inserts into the bone, that it ruptures. If it pulls away a piece of bone with it, the injury is called an avulsion fracture. No one knows exactly why one athlete gets injured when another one doesn't. With any of these overuse injuries, sports participation with repetitive motions during a growth spurt seem to be the major risk factors. Anatomic variations from the norm may add to the risk. The actions required by certain sports seem to be a part of the equation as well. Knowing that the growing athlete has an increased risk for these types of injuries should alert all who work with them to pay attention to any reports of joint or bone tenderness or pain. Warm up exercises, stretching, and strengthening may be helpful. When prevention isn't possible, early diagnosis and immediate treatment are recommended. Early referral to a sports physician or orthopedic surgeon is always advised. The diagnosis isn't always so easy. There are many sports injuries that can present with the same (or similar) kinds of pain patterns. A history, physical exam, and clinical tests along with X-rays or other more advanced imaging give the physician clues as to the real problem. The sooner an accurate diagnosis is made and treatment is started, the faster the athlete can recover. Delays in diagnosis extend out the treatment time and can result in further injury and/or deformity.

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