Back-to-school time is here. Do you have a child playing sports this school year?

For high school athletes, the start of the school year means it’s time for practices, tryouts, homecoming games, and bonding with new teammates. You know they’ll need new equipment, team uniforms, and payment for lessons, but there’s one key thing every high school athlete needs in their arsenal that’s often overlooked: a comprehensive sports medicine treatment plan.

Benefits

Educating your student athlete on proper sports medicine practices and having a set sports medicine treatment plan has many benefits for young athletes. In addition to treating sports related injuries, sports medicine focuses on the prevention of sports related injuries, balancing nutrition, and physical rehabilitation.

Sports medicine involves an integrative treatment approach between physicians, physical therapists, surgeons, and other specialists. Sports medicine does not refer to a single specialty, but rather, an umbrella of medical specialties that aim to help an athlete perform safely and to the best of their potential. By making sure young athletes start their high school sports careers off with proper understanding of sports medicine and its importance, you’ll help set them up for success and a long, healthy career.

Common High School Sports Injuries

Sports medicine is key to preventing injuries in high school athletes, but sometimes injury is unavoidable. Common sports injuries that high school athletes may experience include:

• Pulled muscles and strains, including pulled hamstrings, ankle sprains, and groin
• Concussions
• Tendon injuries such as rotator cuff tears
• Specific movement related issues such as tennis elbow or golfer’s elbow

Injuries may be acute from blunt force trauma or develop over time with wear and tear. It is critical to make sure your high school athlete is getting proper technique instruction to help decrease the risk of injury. If injured, this is where having a comprehensive knowledge of sports medicine treatment comes into play. Read our High School Injuries blog for more in depth knowledge of common sports injuries.

Treatment

If your high school athlete is injured, it’s important to know what to do next to avoid further injury and to ensure proper recovery. In a non-serious injury, the first thing your student should do is to follow the PRICE method:

• Protect - Protect the injured area with bandages or splints
• Rest - Stop physical activity and rest
• Ice - Ice the injury to help reduce pain and swelling
• Compression - Compress the injured area to reduce swelling
• Elevation - Elevate the injured area to help reduce pain and swelling

It’s also important to go see a doctor after an injury. Having a team of sports medicine professionals for your high school athlete will help expedite treatment and get your athlete on the path to recovery. A visit to MidAmerica Orthopaedics’ Immediate Care walk-in clinic provides immediate access to sports medicine specialists without having to go through the “middle man”.

The team at MidAmerica Orthopaedics Sports Medicine Clinic is equipped to provide on-site, timely diagnosis and treatment, including X-rays, MRIs, and physical therapy. The team will work to find the most efficient and least invasive plan of treatment possible, in order to get your high school athlete back in the game.

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Brisbin. Dr. Chapman, or Dr. Meisel, call (708) 237-7200. You can also request an appointment online. MidAmerica Orthopaedics serves various areas such as Chicago, Palos Hills, Mokena, New Lenox, Oak Lawn, Burbank and more.