health watch: dr. nirav k. pandya
More Variety LESS INJURIES Playing multiple sports at a young age can lead to better athleticism and less doctor visits
As an orthopedic surgeon, former collegiate athlete and parent, sports are intricately woven into my life. For the past several months, the media has focused extensively on the topic of misguided athletic participation, highlighting program’s like Major League Baseball’s “Pitch Smart” guidelines and the STOP Sports Injuries campaign. Yet, for every story that highlights the potential dangers of athletic participation when not done appropriately, there are ten more stories of professional athletes whose singular focus on athletics has supposedly led to professional stardom. The unfortunate reality is that for the vast majority of young athletes, they have a very slim chance of obtaining an athletic scholarship (around 2 percent) and even slimmer chance of turning professional (less than 0.6 percent). Even if you are one of the lucky few who is able to obtain a scholarship, the average scholarship award is approximately $11,000 — barely covering the cost of tuition. Children as young as 6 years of age walk into my clinic on a daily basis having exerted their bodies for countless hours; many times specializing in one sport year round. Many are chasing the dream of athletic scholarships or professional contracts. Anterior cruciate ligament injuries, cartilage loss, elbow ligament tears and stress fractures — once the domain of the adult — are common complaints of these athletes, many of whom have not even entered high school. Are we hurting more kids than helping them? As a former collegiate athlete and coach, I understand the importance of athletics; not for the chance of obtaining a scholarship, but rather for fostering work ethic, teamwork and sportsmanship. Yet, over the past several years, I have seen sports in many of our youth become a means to an end rather than a mean in and of itself. The current landscape of sports is different, and many of the changes we have made have not helped to improve athletic performance but rather have only helped to increase injury rates. Take the following example. Choosing to specialize in one sport is commonly thought to lead to improved performance in that sport; a la the 10,000-hour rule (i.e. to become an expert in anything you need to practice it for 10,000 hours). To the contrary, there are multiple studies which have shown that playing various sports until a later age is more likely to lead to success
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in athletics (i.e. whether it be scholarships or becoming professional) than specializing in one sport at a young age. This has been repeatedly shown in studies looking at elite athletes in multiple countries as well as collegiate programs in the U.S.. The fact remains that deciding to do “a lot” of one sport only at a very young age will guarantee you only one thing — an increased injury rate and multiple trips to the doctor. Children should be encouraged to play multiple sports. Play football in the fall, basketball in the winter, and run track in the spring. Use different muscle groups, skill sets and movement patterns. Our bodies need a diversity of activity to stay healthy and avoid burnout. I choose to live a healthy lifestyle because of my positive experience with sports. I learned more about being an effective physician and parent by participating in multiple sports at varying levels as a child; interacting with teammates of different skill levels, backgrounds and life stories. The core values I learned have remained with me throughout my life. What I cherish the most are not the individual accomplishments, but rather working my tail off with my teammates towards a common goal. Sports are powerful, and physical activity is key to creating a healthy population. Kids should train hard, but train smartly. Strive to become a three-sport athlete, not a one-sport burnout. We need to make sure we are allowing our youth to experience sports in its purest form. If not, we are doing a tremendous disservice to them both now, and as adults in the future. ✪ Dr. Nirav K. Pandya is a pediatric orthopedic surgeon specializing in pediatric sports injuries at the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland. He sees patients and operates in Oakland and Walnut Creek.
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December 18, 2014
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