VANCOUVER, B.C. — Physicians can help young athletes and parents keep sports in balance and avoid problems such as overuse injuries and overtraining syndrome, according to a sports medicine specialist.
“So many of our kids are involved in sports, especially between the ages of 8 and 20. It's kind of a microcosm of life for a lot of kids,” said Dr. Joseph A. Congeni, medical director of sports medicine at the Akron (Ohio) Children's Hospital. When kept in balance, sports participation has numerous benefits for young people and allows them to learn many of life's lessons, he added. “However, it may be overemphasized in our society.”
Commenting on some trends in pediatric sports participation over the past 20 years, he said, “Maybe the dreams have intensified some—Olympic gold, college scholarship, or professional athlete.” In addition, children are now participating in sports at younger ages, partaking in year-round competition and camps, and training with high intensity and volume. Not surprisingly, overuse injuries have become more common during the same time period, he said at a meeting on pediatric and adolescent sports medicine sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Discussing early sports specialization, Dr. Congeni called the early childhood years “the golden period,” and said the goals for young athletes should be free play and a wide variety of activity. “I have a problem with kids in the age range of 6–10 being involved in one sport year-round,” he commented, whereas such specialization may become reasonable in middle school or high school, depending on the level of competition and volume of training and whether the goal of specializing is the child's or the parent's.
The risks of sports specialization at any age include overuse injuries, such as stress fractures; overtraining syndrome (burnout), which in fact leads to a decrease in athletic performance; emotional and psychological problems; and the situation in which the child is trapped in fulfilling the parent's dream. “Beware of the ages 12–16,” Dr. Congeni advised. “That's when the parent's dream can sometimes get to be pathologic.” He suggested discussing these risks with parents and young athletes.
“Parents, coaches, and athletes are all looking for the cutting edge, and what we have to emphasize in our offices is looking at basic training guidelines first,” Dr. Congeni recommended. For example, a child should be eating a balanced diet and training with appropriate technique. Attending training centers or camps may be reasonable if it is something that the young athlete wants, he said. However, the athlete and parents should be counseled about realistic expectations as far as improving performance, and the athlete must be adequately prepared for the intensity of these programs.
Dr. Congeni reported that he had no conflicts of interest.