Jane Brody wrote about overuse injuries in youth sports in Tuesday's "Personal Health" column in the New York Times. The headline: For Children in Sports, a Breaking Point. I was glad to see it for a couple of reasons.
First, it brought attention to an issue that doesn't get very much - or as much as it deserves. Despite forums like this one and the efforts of many sports medicine experts, overuse injuries (totally avoidable if a few basics rules are observed) remain an under-reported issue. Among parents and coaches (my observation), there just isn't a sense of urgency about the problem.
Second, Brody cited Until It Hurts. In the column, she devotes several paragraphs to my brain-lock moment as a youth baseball coach (when I paid scant attention to my son's complaints of a sore shoulder). On that score, she refers to my "misguided behavior" and "foolish shortsightedness." She got it right both times.
The column reached a lot of readers. Wednesday morning, it ranked among the ten most e mailed articles in the newspaper.
I like Brody's long view of the problem:
"Clearly we’ve gone too far when the emphasis on athletic participation and performance becomes all-consuming and causes injuries that can sometimes compromise a child’s future."
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